Papillary carcinoma in thyroid cancer is more likely to occur between 21 and 40 years of age. It usually varies from 10 months to 30 years from the time of onset to the time of consultation, so it is usually diagnosed late. For this reason, women should have an ultrasound thyroid examination every year to detect and treat the cancer as early as possible. The incidence of thyroid cancer has increased significantly in recent years, and thyroid cancer is quietly becoming a highly prevalent cancer. Thyroid cancer is more common in women than in men Thyroid cancer is cancer of the thyroid tissue. Since the Chernobyl nuclear power plant leak in the former Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, thyroid cancer has been the fastest growing solid malignancy in the last 20 years, with an average annual increase of 6.2%. Why does thyroid cancer occur The medical community is still uncertain about the direct cause of thyroid cancer, but it is broadly related to these factors: abnormal iodine intake, genetics, and environment. Iodine and the thyroid gland are very closely related. The thyroid hormone is very important to the human body and its deficiency can cause “cretinism” and incomplete intellectual and physical development. The amount of iodine needed by the average human body is 150-200 micrograms per day. International studies on iodine show that the relationship between iodine intake and thyroid disease is U-shaped, with both high and low iodine intake leading to an increase in thyroid disease. When there is an excess of iodine, the thyroid gland regulates itself to be insensitive to iodine and the excess iodine is excreted in the urine. After a period of time, even if a normal amount of iodine is consumed, the thyroid gland cannot absorb iodine and cannot synthesize thyroid hormones. The thyroid gland then regulates itself to a “hypersensitive” state and becomes hyperfunctional, and after a long period of excitement, the thyroid gland becomes overstretched and swollen. Similarly, when the amount of iodine is not enough, the thyroid gland becomes directly “hypersensitive” and works very hard, making it prone to problems over time. Cancer is simply a mutation of cells in the body, where one’s own people become enemies and fight their own people. There are two aspects to promote cell mutation, internal and external: internal is the inheritance of a bad physique, the cell is unstable by nature and easy to become bad; external is environmental stimulation, external temptation to instigate the cell to become bad and turn against each other. For example, some families, from great-grandfather, grandfather, father to son all suffer from the same kind of cancer, that is heredity; for example, Japan Hiroshima suffered from the atomic bomb, people there have a higher incidence of cancer than any other places in Japan. A person who lives and works under the exposure to radiation for a long time is also prone to thyroid cancer. Lumps in the head and neck are more dangerous without pain Investigation found that many people will have small lumps near the head and neck, but as long as they are not painful or itchy, most people will take medicine on their own to solve the problem or simply ignore it. However, experts point out that symptomatic lumps in the head and neck should be taken seriously, and asymptomatic lumps should not be taken lightly, as they may be signs of malignant tumors even if they are not painful or itchy. Why should painless lumps in the neck attract more attention? This is because painless neck lumps have a higher incidence of tumor, which means the possibility of tumor is higher; on the contrary, the more the neck lumps have some symptoms, the possibility of non-tumor is higher. Many neck tumors are found unintentionally and only manifest clinically as neck lumps without other symptoms, especially in the early stage of tumor discovery. For example, thyroid cancer, thyroid adenoma, malignant lymphoma and various metastatic cancers (such as nasopharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, lung cancer, cervical lymph node metastasis), salivary gland tumors (benign and malignant tumors of parotid gland or submandibular gland), hemangioma, lymphangioleioma, nerve sheath tumor, paraganglioma, etc., which occur in the cervical lymph nodes are mostly without pain, skin redness and swelling and other symptoms. At this time, patients often ignore the possibility of tumors because of the absence of other symptoms, thus causing delay in treatment. Once some malignant tumors lose the opportunity of early diagnosis and treatment, when the disease develops further and then go to the doctor, they are often in advanced stage and it is difficult to obtain satisfactory treatment effect. In addition, some tumor-like lesions in the neck that require surgical treatment, such as parotid cysts and thyroid cysts, are also mostly painless lumps in the neck, which are easily ignored by patients. In contrast, some lumps in the neck with symptoms such as redness, swelling and pain should be considered more as atopic or non-atopic inflammatory masses such as septic inflammation and lymphatic tuberculosis. Of course, advanced manifestations of some tumors cannot be completely excluded. Ultrasound screening is the preferred method of examination for thyroid cancer Since the thyroid gland is located under the skin of the neck, it is easily detected and palpable once enlarged. Although it has been continuously recognized and deepened for thousands of years in human history, in the past, the diagnosis of thyroid disease relied only on the physician’s manual touch, because it was influenced by many factors such as the location and size of the nodule in the thyroid gland, the thickness of the patient’s neck, obesity and the experience of the examiner, etc. The real The chances of finding and detecting thyroid lesions were not high. It was not until the advent of ultrasound and color ultrasound technology in the late 1980s that the diagnosis of thyroid disease was revolutionized. Nodules under 1 cm that were previously untouchable and changes in blood flow around the thyroid gland are clearly visible. In particular, the high-frequency ultrasound technology of the thyroid gland adopted in recent years can not only clearly display the anatomical structure of the thyroid gland, hemodynamics, microcirculatory perfusion and other manifestations, but can also detect tiny nodules of 2~3 mm, and at the same time can accurately distinguish between glial retention of the thyroid gland and substantial masses, as well as determine whether necrosis has occurred in substantial masses and other valuable information. According to the data provided by Professor Wu Yi, director of the Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis and Research Center of Fudan University, in 1996, more than 90% of thyroid cancer patients were seen for neck lumps, and only 3% were detected by ultrasound screening. However, in 2006, about 60% of thyroid cancer patients were seen for neck lumps and 30% of them were detected by ultrasound screening. This indicates that ultrasound screening has played an important role in the diagnosis of primary thyroid cancer. Prof. Wu Yi said that clinical data from cancer hospitals over the years show that the accuracy rate of ultrasound screening is close to 90%, and the smallest thyroid cancer found is only 0.2 cm in diameter. And it is especially effective in detecting early thyroid cancer: in 2006, 185 cases of thyroid cancer without any other clinical status signs were detected by ultrasound screening, accounting for 32% of all first cases. Iodized salt for the thyroid gland: “Do we still need to eat iodized salt?” In the past year, there were some reports of “iodized salt increasing thyroid disease”, which made many people worry about iodized salt, and many people worry that iodized salt increases the risk of thyroid tumors. In fact, the intake of iodine should be individualized and reasonable. Normal people should also avoid the extremes of not consuming iodine at all and consuming large amounts of iodine. What is the role of iodine in the human body? Iodine is the raw material for thyroxine. Lack of iodine can cause low thyroxine and turn into hypothyroidism. Patients with hypothyroidism can cause low basal metabolism in the human body, making the body feel weak and cold, and in severe cases, mucinous edema can occur, and fetuses, infants and adolescents can produce brain development retardation. Therefore, iodine is an indispensable nutrient for the human body. However, excessive iodine intake can indeed increase the risk of hyperthyroidism. Therefore, iodine should neither be consumed too little nor too much. Therefore, adding iodine to salt is not a bad thing, and whether or not to choose iodized salt should be entirely from your own point of view. It is recommended that for people who already have hyperthyroidism, they should eat non-iodized salt, while for normal people who do not have hyperthyroidism, they should not reject iodized salt. Three misconceptions about thyroid cancer treatment Myth 1: Believing that drugs can completely cure thyroid tumors. From the current medical condition, there is no certain type or class of drugs that can cure thyroid tumor. Clinically, except for a few nodular goiter patients who have been fully diagnosed and have the condition of close follow-up, they can be treated with thyroxine preparations on a trial basis, but the rest are indications for surgical treatment, which means that surgery is the only way to cure thyroid tumor. In other words, surgery is the only way to cure thyroid tumor. If you blindly follow the advice of non-professional doctors or believe in some so-called “special prescriptions” to carry out medication, you will only return without success and even cause delay. Misconception two: avoiding the disease and fearing surgery. After hundreds of years of research and development, the surgical technique of thyroid tumor surgery has become a successful model of surgical treatment. Its operation technique is standardized, and under modern anesthesia conditions, the pain is mild, and has the advantages of excellent efficacy and few complications, which can completely eliminate the fear of surgery. Misconception 3: Thyroid cancer is a malignant disease and cannot be cured. Except for undifferentiated thyroid cancer, which is rare (accounting for only 5%-10% of all thyroid cancers) and occurs mostly in the elderly, differentiated thyroid cancers (including papillary, follicular and medullary cancers) have a good chance of being cured. Among differentiated thyroid cancers, papillary carcinoma is the most common, accounting for about 75% of all thyroid cancers, follicular carcinoma is the second most common, and medullary carcinoma is the least common; papillary carcinoma is mostly seen in young and middle-aged women, and its disease develops slowly. Follicular carcinoma and medullary carcinoma can have a cure rate of more than 70% if they are treated in the early stage of the disease.