Thyroid cancer as the name suggests develops in the thyroid gland of the human body. It is located below the Adam’s apple and secretes hormones. Even though it is a curable health condition yet one must be aware of warning signs and symptoms so as to be able to detect it. Unfortunately thyroid cancer cannot be very well detected at an early stage, not unless a lump like feeling in the neck begins to develop. It has been found that women are more prone to thyroid cancer than men; at a 3:1 ratio, also, it is more commonly found in people over 30 years of age than in younger adults or children.
[Read: Causes of Thyroid Cancer]
Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer:
Coughing dry or coughing up blood
Difficulty in swallowing
Swelling in the neck
Hoarseness
Enlargement of the thyroid gland
Pain in the neck or throat
Fever
[Read: Treatment of Thyroid Cancer]
We can list a few conditions under which thyroid cancer can be a possibility, they are:
Too little iodine in your diet can cause thyroid cancer because iodine is required for the thyroid to produce thyroid hormone.
Being exposed to radiation as a medical treatment in the neck area can be another cause for thyroid cancer.
There are drugs such as lithium and heart drug named cordarone that can cause hypothyroidism.
Smoking can be another thing that may increase your chances of thyroid cancer.
A woman nearing menopause or menopausal is at risk of thyroid cancer.
Hence, going by the possibilities and signs given above you have a fairly good idea about what to expect, what to look out for and when to look out for such conditions.
[Read: Alcohol may Prevent Thyroid Cancer]
Thyroid cancer is basically of four types: papillary, medullary, follicular and anaplastic. The papillary type is the most common type and is the least harmful of the lot. The medullary cancer is a cancer of non-thyroid cells that tends to occur in families. Anaplastic is the least common type and is detected only after it has spread and is almost incurable. The most important thing about thyroid cancer is the detection of it and preventing the cells to move outside the thyroid gland. Knowing the warning signs of this type of cancer will help you understand and detect it at the earliest.
However, it is important to seek a doctor’s advice before going in a fit about having a cancer cell growing in your thyroid gland. Most lumps in the thyroid gland can be a cause of infection and other conditions. It has been found that most of these lump in the neck cases are because of some other reason and not cancerous.
Read more articles on Thyroid Cancer.