Looking at the incidence figures of thyroid cancer, which have been rearranged year after year, is indeed frightening. However, this is not the case, and the survey data also show the “gentle” side of thyroid cancer. Although the incidence of thyroid cancer has increased threefold over the past 50 years, the mortality rate has remained stable. This is because among malignant tumors, the prognosis for thyroid cancer is generally good, with many thyroid cancers having metastases, but patients still surviving for more than ten years. Thyroid cancer is divided into four categories: papillary cancer, follicular cancer, medullary cancer and undifferentiated cancer, the most common of which is papillary cancer, accounting for more than 85%, and papillary cancer has the best therapeutic effect, especially in adolescent patients, and may be the most favorable cancer in human beings, with a long course of the disease, good prognosis, and almost does not affect the normal life expectancy; followed by about 10% of follicular carcinoma, and about 5% medullary carcinoma, and 1 The second is about 10% of follicular carcinoma, about 5% of medullary carcinoma, and 1%~2% of undifferentiated carcinoma. In conclusion, there are many factors involved in prognosis, such as age, gender, pathological type, extent of lesions, metastasis and surgical methods, among which pathological type is the most important. Ninety-five percent of patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer can survive for a longer period of time. This is made possible by improved screening methods, improved surgical techniques and more comprehensive postoperative treatment and management. First symptom: painless lump in the neck Early thyroid cancer, if treated with timely and reasonable surgery, can have a long survival period, and even “return” to normal after surgery. However, if early stage cancer turns into advanced stage cancer, the effect of surgery will be much worse, and the survival period after surgery will also be greatly reduced. How to detect the lurking crisis in the neck at an early stage? Clinical findings: Thyroid cancer mostly has no symptoms in the early stage, which gives these latent cancer cells a chance to “pass through”, and also makes it extremely difficult to find out these “enemy molecules” in time. Nevertheless, we can still look for some “clues” to confirm their existence and then nip them in the bud. Generally speaking, the first symptom of most thyroid cancer patients is a painless lump in the neck, most of which moves up and down with swallowing, and some patients may have difficulty swallowing and a feeling of pressure in the neck. Some patients may have difficulty in swallowing and pressure feeling in the neck. Another part of patients may first find the enlarged metastatic lymph nodes in the neck, and then examine to find the primary lesion in the thyroid gland. Therefore, if you find a lump in your neck that moves with swallowing, or a fixed neck lump larger than 2 centimeters, you need to go to the hospital promptly. It is also recommended that people over 20 years of age, especially white-collar women with excessive mental stress, people with family history of thyroid cancer, people who are often exposed to high radiation work environment, people who are addicted to seafood and residents of coastal areas and other high-risk groups of thyroid cancer, it is best to go to regular hospitals once a year to do a color ultrasound of the thyroid gland. This is a very practical and useful method, and the cost is not too high, at more than 100 yuan. Surgery is only the beginning of treatment There are 3 main treatments for thyroid cancer: the first is surgery, the second is radiotherapy, and the third is oral thyroxine. Surgery is enough for early stage thyroid cancer patients, and lifelong thyroid hormone replacement therapy is carried out under the guidance of doctors after surgery, aiming at firstly, making up for the lack of thyroxine in the body, and secondly, inhibiting the development of thyroid cancer to a certain extent, and seldom having toxic side effects. However, in taking thyroxine tablets, it is necessary to take a sufficient amount by mouth and adjust the dosage according to the test results: too much will show symptoms of hyperthyroidism, and too little will have no effect. After thyroid cancer surgery, if there are the following 3 cases, besides long-term oral thyroxine tablets, it is also necessary to receive internal radiation therapy in nuclear medicine department: ① distant metastasis or peripheral invasion visible to the naked eye, regardless of the size of the tumor; ② primary tumor >4 cm; ③ 1-4 cm tumor with lymph node metastasis, or other high-risk factors. The common treatment is 131 iodine therapy, because all residual thyroid tissues, and more than 80% of metastatic foci of differentiated thyroid cancer, have the ability to ingest radioactive 131 iodine, and when a large dose of 131 iodine is taken orally, it will be directed to reach the lesion site like a biological missile, and use the β-rays it releases to completely remove or destroy the residual thyroid tissues or metastatic foci. 131 Iodine Therapy For patients without metastasis after surgery, it will play a role in preventing recurrence and metastasis, while for patients with metastasis, it can effectively treat metastatic foci, so 131 iodine treatment is necessary for all postoperative patients with differentiated thyroid cancer.131 iodine treatment is simple and requires only one oral dose. As it is a biological missile-type treatment, it has less effect on other organs and tissues of the whole body, so it has fewer side effects and complications. The recurrence time of thyroid cancer after surgery is mostly within 5 years, and the recurrence site is mostly in the primary tumor or neck. Therefore, thyroid cancer patients should pay special attention to whether there are palpable lumps in the original surgical site or neck. At the early stage of recurrence, most of the patients have no conscious symptoms, but once there are symptoms such as hoarseness, choking, breath-holding, dysphagia, coughing up blood or joint pain, it often suggests that the recurrent cancer has developed to a certain degree. Therefore, postoperative patients should go to the hospital for regular checkups, generally every 3 months or half a year in the first two years, and every half a year or one year thereafter. It is especially important to note that it is best to ask the doctor who performed the previous surgery to perform the checkup, as they know the patient’s pre- and post-operative conditions. If the previous surgery was not performed in a specialized hospital, it is best to bring the medical record to the specialized hospital for examination. Once recurrence is found, do not be pessimistic and give up treatment. At present, the treatment of recurrent cancer is still mainly based on surgical treatment, and most of the recurrent thyroid cancers can be completely resected; even if they cannot be completely resected, patients with a small amount of tumor remaining can still have a longer survival period.