Many people are told they have a thyroid nodule during a physical examination, an ultrasound of the neck reveals a lump in the neck, or a nodule in the thyroid gland …… They often say they have a small “lump” in their neck and have difficulty swallowing, and are often confused and don’t The thyroid nodule is a disease that is often feared because it is not understood. So what should I do if I find a thyroid nodule? In recent years, the prevalence of thyroid disease is rising rapidly, but people know little about it, so it is necessary to strengthen the popularization of knowledge about thyroid tumor. The shape of thyroid gland is like a beautiful butterfly. Although it only weighs about 20-25 grams, it is the largest gland among the endocrine glands in human body and has existed since human fetal period. The inorganic iodine compounds contained in the food people eat every day are absorbed into the bloodstream through the stomach and intestines, and the thyroid gland takes this intake and concentrates it before storing it for use by the body. With routine thyroid examinations, excessive iodine intake and the presence of many types of radiation in the environment, thyroid cancer is increasing year by year, causing widespread concern in society. Although thyroid cancer is not the most common type of malignant tumor, its incidence rate is increasing year by year, and it is the fastest growing malignant tumor. The age of onset is mainly young adults between 20 and 40 years old, with more women than men. The reason why thyroid tumor prefers young women is that women in this age group are in a period of high secretion of estrogen and progesterone, and endocrine disorders caused by high mental stress, late childbirth and abortion, which can easily cause the disease. At the same time, excessive iodine intake can also cause cancer. Thyroid nodules, which can be palpated on either side of the trachea or on one side of the neck and move up and down with swallowing, are commonly seen as thyroid adenomas, nodular goiter, thyroid cancer, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and can be diagnosed selectively using thyroid function tests, ultrasound, or even fine needle aspiration biopsy. So what are the conditions that require prompt medical attention? There are the following: 1. A family history of thyroid malignancy, when a thyroid mass or nodule is found; 2. Ultrasound suggests a hypoechoic nodule with gravel-like calcified echogenicity, disturbed blood flow, unclear nodule borders, no envelope, and an aspect ratio greater than 1; 3. A thyroid nodule with hoarseness, or with difficulty swallowing, or with difficulty breathing; 4. A thyroid nodule with symptoms of hyperthyroidism such as panic, excessive sweating, weight loss, Please pay attention to the importance of thyroid ultrasound, functional examinations and fine needle cytology aspiration, as thyroid diseases are becoming more frequent. The key to whether or not to operate on a thyroid nodule lies in the nature of the nodule. The vast majority of patients with malignant thyroid nodules are preferred for surgical removal and have a good prognosis; the vast majority of patients with benign thyroid nodules do not require special treatment and should be followed up with a thyroid ultrasound examination every 6-12 months and fine needle cytology aspiration if necessary. When patients with thyroid nodules have local pressure symptoms, progressive enlargement of the nodules, and pathology suggestive of suspicious carcinoma by fine needle cytology, surgical treatment should be considered. Surgery may also be considered when thyroid nodules cause severe symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Undoubtedly, everyone is afraid of cancer, but I can tell you that thyroid cancer is not scary, it is one of the malignant tumors that can reach clinical cure, with a survival rate of 80-90% in 20-30 years, and most of them do not affect life expectancy, it is a disease that does not kill but can scare people to death. Surgery is of course the preferred method and the main means of treatment when you have thyroid cancer. Differentiated thyroid cancer has a good prognosis and has no significant effect on radiotherapy. Generally, patients do not need chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but they need to take oral levothyroxine tablets (Eugenol) after surgery, firstly, because thyroid function will be affected after thyroid surgery due to thyroid gland removal, so they need to apply Eugenol replacement therapy, and secondly, TSH suppression therapy, so the dose of oral Eugenol for thyroid cancer patients after surgery is often larger. There are often many patients and friends worry about taking the medication, in fact, oral thyroxine is not terrible: 1. safe: pregnant women can take it. 2, convenient: once a day, half an hour before breakfast orally or before bedtime. 3, the price is not expensive: about 1 yuan per day. But we need to pay attention to: because thyroxine will accelerate the loss of calcium, it is recommended to take oral eugenol with appropriate calcium supplementation, to calcium and vitamin D complex is better. It is especially important for postmenopausal women to pay more attention to calcium supplementation. Calcium supplementation should be around 1000 mg per day after differentiated thyroid cancer surgery. In addition, some patients with thyroid cancer need 131I treatment after surgery: 1) tumor larger than 100px; 2) tumor invasion; 3) lymph node metastasis or distant metastasis. Next, let’s talk about how to eat for patients with long thyroid nodules. Please pay attention to: (1) If you are hypothyroid, please eat less white radish and cabbage because they contain thiourea, which will inhibit thyroxine secretion; (2) On the topic of iodine supplementation: people like those in coastal areas consume both iodized salt and seafood, which is actually already too much iodine. If you are hyperthyroid, you should have a low iodine diet because iodine supplementation will increase thyroid If you are suffering from thyroid cancer or thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s disease), you are advised to have a low iodine diet, and for thyroiditis, iodine supplementation will aggravate the inflammatory symptoms. In summary, although thyroid cancer is a malignant tumor, it is relatively less harmful than other common malignant tumors. If thyroid cancer can be treated timely and correctly, it has a very good chance of being cured, but because of its early clinical symptoms are not typical, some people with the disease should pay attention to regular medical checkups so as to detect the disease early and get treatment in time.