The Ministry of Health and medical experts recently said that iodized salt has nothing to do with thyroid cancer and there is no scientific basis for the so-called “increase in thyroid cancer caused by iodized salt”. In recent years, the incidence of thyroid cancer is indeed on the rise, mainly due to the increase in unhealthy lifestyles, such as high fat and high calorie, obesity, etc., as the standard of living improves, which makes the incidence of most tumors, including thyroid cancer, on the rise.
The iodization of salt to supplement human iodine content has been used in Europe for more than 100 years and has never caused iodine poisoning, iodine overdose or other health hazards. Experts in China have also conducted studies and found no relationship between iodized salt and the incidence of thyroid cancer. On the contrary, the conclusion that iodine supplementation can transform thyroid cancer into a less malignant disease has been widely accepted internationally.
Thyroid disease is not an incurable disease, but a treatable and controllable one. Don’t take thyroid tumor as a heavy burden, even if you really suffer from thyroid tumor, don’t worry too much, more than 90% of thyroid tumors are benign and can be cured.
Thyroid disease has been known for 2,000 years
Both in China and Europe, the initial knowledge and records of thyroid lesions have been available for 2,000 years. In 1656, Thomas Wharton called it thyroid gland, a name derived from the Greek word for “shield-like”, not because of its shape, but because of the shape of the nearby thyroid cartilage. It is the shape of the nearby thyroid cartilage.
In traditional Chinese medicine, thyroid gland lesions are classified as “gall disease”, as in the Warring States period in the “Lü Shi Chun Qiu”, which states that “in light water, there are many bald and gall people”. What is gall? The “Source of Miscellaneous Diseases Rhinoceros Candle” says: “Its skin is wide and resembles a cherry, so it is called gall.” The “Shuowen Jiezi” says: “Gall, neck tumor also.” Ancient medical practitioners in China called it “gall tumor”, gall and “baby” the same, is the meaning of winding, that is, in the neck around the throat also. This can be seen to refer to thyroid tumors. This disease was also mentioned in the “Treatise on the Origin of Diseases” of the Sui Dynasty and the “Compendium of Materia Medica” of the Ming Dynasty.
Thyroid gland is the engine of the body
The thyroid gland is the largest endocrine organ in the body. It is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the lower part of the neck, including two lobes on each side of the trachea, connected by thyroid tissue in the middle, called the isthmus. Most people don’t know where the thyroid gland is located, but most people are not unfamiliar with the term “thick neck disease”, which generally refers to goiter, which tells us that the thyroid gland is located in the neck. To be more specific, the thyroid gland is located about 2D3 cm below the “laryngeal node”, which can move up and down with it when swallowing something.
The size of the human thyroid gland varies greatly by region and age, and is generally 3D6 cm long, 2D3 cm wide and 2D2.5 cm thick when measured by ultrasound, with the isthmus no thicker than 0.8 cm. The normal adult thyroid gland weighs about 18 grams for men and 15 grams for women. Although it is such a small piece of meat, it is an essential part of human survival because the thyroid gland secretes thyroid hormones that are essential for normal growth and development and for the body’s daily metabolism.
The thyroid gland has been described as the “engine of the body”, controlling the metabolic activities of the body and affecting every part of the body. Director Wang Gang said that the main function of the thyroid gland is to produce thyroid hormones. The role of thyroid hormone on the human body is mainly in three aspects: First, it promotes growth and development especially in infancy, so congenital or early childhood lack of thyroid hormone will cause cretinism; second, it affects the body’s metabolism and makes the body produce heat, and under normal circumstances, it promotes protein synthesis, which is important for growth and development in early childhood. However, excessive secretion of thyroid hormone makes protein, especially protein of skeletal muscle, decompose in large quantities, thus patients with hyperthyroidism will appear thin and weak; thirdly, it is important for the activities of some organs and maintaining the excitability of the nervous system, thyroid hormone can act directly on the heart muscle, making the contraction of the heart muscle increase and the heart rate speed up.
Ultrasound causes “trouble” and pushes up the morbidity rate
Since thyroid hormones are synthesized in the follicular cells of the thyroid gland, the thyroid follicular cells and the follicular cavity are the site of thyroid hormone synthesis and are the basic functional unit of the thyroid gland. If the thyroid cells are “strained” over the years, they will become “disordered” and overactive, so there will be local cell proliferation and enlargement in the thyroid gland. When extra cells appear in the thyroid gland and gather in clusters, “nodules” are formed.
Modern medical advances have led to the early detection of many thyroid tumors that were difficult to detect in the past, presenting an increasing trend in the incidence statistics. Medical data show that in China, the prevalence of thyroid nodules detected by palpation used to be only 3% to 7% of the population, but nowadays, with high definition ultrasonography, the detection rate of thyroid nodules can reach 20% to 70%. Statistics show that thyroid nodules can be seen in both men and women of all ages, but are more common in middle-aged women. Statistics also show that the rate of thyroid disease in women is also increasing, by 0.3% per year.
Because the thyroid gland is located under the skin of the neck, once enlarged, it is easily detected and palpable. Although humans have been aware of it for thousands of years, in the past, when the thyroid gland was examined by physical examination, it was mostly done by surgical palpation, and the location of the thyroid gland was hidden, so it was often difficult to detect small thyroid nodules; in addition, it was also related to the experience of the detectors, so the detection rate of nodules was very low.
In contrast, a simple ultrasound can now detect them. The advent of ultrasound and color ultrasound technology in the late 1980s has revolutionized the diagnosis of thyroid disorders. Color ultrasound enables nodules under 1 cm that were previously untouchable and changes in blood flow around the thyroid to be clearly visible. In particular, high-frequency ultrasound of the thyroid gland, which has been adopted in recent years, can not only clearly display the anatomical structure, hemodynamics and microcirculatory perfusion of the thyroid gland, but can also detect microscopic nodules as small as 2D3 mm, and provide a lot of valuable information such as accurately distinguishing between glial retention and substantial masses of the thyroid gland, and determining whether necrosis has occurred in substantial masses.
Over 90% of thyroid tumors are benign
According to my own clinical experience over the years, generally people suffering from thyroid nodules do not feel anything themselves, and thyroid nodules are often discovered only through physical examination, mainly ultrasound. Only when the nodule is so large that it presses on nearby tissues do the corresponding manifestations, such as difficulty breathing, swallowing and hoarseness, appear. In some cases, localized swelling and pain may also occur due to bleeding within the capsule.
However, do not panic if you find a nodule in the thyroid gland because, more than 95% of thyroid nodules are benign. Although the prevalence of thyroid nodules is high, the percentage of malignancy is small and the degree of malignancy is low, and most benign thyroid nodules have good natural regression.
According to statistics, the annual incidence of thyroid cancer in the United States increased from 3.6 per 100,000 to 8.7 per 100,000 between 1973 and 2002, an increase of about 2.4 times, and the trend is still increasing year by year. In contrast, the incidence of thyroid cancer in China is relatively low, with about 0.8D0.9/100,000 in men and 2.0D2.2/100,000 in women, according to statistics.
There is currently a consensus in the medical community at home and abroad that benign thyroid nodules should be treated without active intervention and observed regularly. The focus is on the need to improve the diagnostic level of thyroid ultrasonography. For thyroid nodules, regular examination and observation and follow-up are the most appropriate management methods.
Of course, the appearance of thyroid cancer is inevitable in the large number of thyroid nodules examined. When people hear the word “cancer”, they will unconsciously tremble. Even if it is thyroid cancer, they need to find out what kind of cancer it is before they can know how effective the treatment will be. In fact, thyroid cancer mainly includes papillary cancer and follicular cancer. Among them, papillary adenocarcinoma accounts for more than 70%. Compared to the more familiar lung cancer and liver cancer, thyroid cancer is much less dangerous. In particular, papillary thyroid cancer, which accounts for more than 70% of thyroid cancer, can be cured by early detection and the quality of life of patients is not much different from that of normal people. As long as lymphatic metastasis does not occur, the survival rate can reach 90% in more than 10 years after treatment.
Thyroid nodules are not that scary? Treatment requires standardized and comprehensive treatment, which is the most important guarantee for high cure rate of thyroid tumor.