Thyroid cancer is the most common malignancy among endocrine system and head and neck tumors. The age of onset of thyroid cancer is relatively young and the incidence increases with age. Thyroid cancer can be divided into undifferentiated carcinoma and differentiated carcinoma according to histological characteristics. Whether lymphatic metastasis of thyroid cancer will kill a person or not needs to be analyzed based on the pathological type, stage, treatment effect and age of thyroid cancer. For example, papillary thyroid cancer mainly metastasizes in lymph nodes, but as long as the tumor and metastatic lymph nodes are removed by active surgery, the prognosis is generally good, and the 10-year survival rate of papillary cancer after surgery is nearly 90%. However, if the symptoms are serious, it can be life-threatening. For example, undifferentiated thyroid cancer often has cervical lymph node metastasis, and sometimes the metastatic lymph nodes in the neck are fused with the primary focus of the thyroid. Most patients are diagnosed late and lose the chance of radical treatment. The prognosis is generally very poor, and most of them die within 1 year, and some even die within 2-3 weeks. Therefore, if there are symptoms such as neck enlargement and discomfort, timely medical treatment is also needed. For papillary carcinoma, if the lymph nodes are not clinically palpable but the swelling in the thyroid gland is highly suspicious of cancer, this is a case without lymph node metastasis. These patients do not necessarily have lymph node metastasis and should undergo ultrasound or CT examination to detect lymph nodes that cannot be felt by hand. Cervical lymphatic dissection surgery is an effective treatment for thyroid cancer neck metastasis and is not a substitute for other treatments. In conclusion, if lymph node metastasis of thyroid cancer occurs, active surgery should be performed in time, and early medical treatment should be sought if you feel unwell.