A few questions about thyroid nodules
Recently many people are very concerned about some diseases of the thyroid gland, especially the online incident that happened between Ark and Wuhan Union Hospital, which made people more concerned. In many places, many thyroid nodules are found during routine physical examinations, causing a lot of people to panic. I think it is necessary to spread some basic knowledge to everyone.
What does the thyroid gland do?
The thyroid gland is an important gland located in the neck of the body. The main function of the thyroid gland is to synthesize, store and secrete thyroxine. The main functions of thyroxine include
1.Increase oxygen consumption and heat production in tissue cells throughout the body;
2.Promote the decomposition of protein, carbohydrate and fat;
3, promote the body’s growth and development and tissue differentiation, this role is related to the age of the body, the younger the age, the greater the impact of thyroxine deficiency. So the thyroid gland is not dispensable. Even if there are good drugs available to replace the function of the thyroid gland, do not think that the thyroid gland can just be removed.
No need to panic about thyroid nodules
The current incidence of thyroid nodules is very high, with the highest statistic being over 50%. This means that if everyone had a physical exam, more than half of them would find nodules. Only a small percentage of those with nodules actually need treatment. Most people have thyroid nodules that do not have any negative effects on the body and live peacefully with it, so we don’t need to worry about it.
Only two things really need to be noted.
1, the regular annual physical exam needs to include this item.
2. Make sure to visit an experienced doctor once for diagnosis, preferably with two or three doctors who all give the same advice before going to make a decision on whether or not to treat it.
Which thyroid nodules need to be treated
There are only a few cases of thyroid nodules that need to be treated, which are very good to remember.
1. Those with the possibility of thyroid cancer.
2. Those that are too large and may compress the trachea or surrounding tissues.
3. Those with combined hyperthyroidism.
4.Posterior sternal goiter. All other cases do not require treatment. It is not true that many people think that surgery is needed if the size is more than a certain number of centimeters; 1 cm, 2 cm, 3 cm or even 4 cm is not the basis for determining whether surgery is needed.
Treatment of thyroid cancer
If you are most unfortunate to have thyroid cancer, it is one of the most promising of all cancers to be cured. If you have to have one type of cancer in your life, thyroid cancer is the most fortunate one. Treatment for thyroid cancer is relatively simple: proper surgery (without damaging the recurrent laryngeal nerve and parathyroid glands) and minimal follow-up treatment is all that is needed. So don’t feel that the sky is falling when you find out you have thyroid cancer, it is a curable tumor. Of course, it is very important to find a good doctor, and depending on fate, the outcome and process of treatment can be completely different. As for the special types of thyroid cancer that rarely occur (such as undifferentiated carcinoma), we do not need to talk about them here because it is very difficult for the general public to see them except for a few doctors.