Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid cancer represents almost 4 percent of new cancer diagnoses in the United States and is the most common malignancy affecting the endocrine system. Each year, 62,450 Americans develop thyroid cancer. Incidences of the disease are increasing.

What Is Thyroid Cancer?

Thyroid cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the thyroid, a gland situated at the base of the neck. The thyroid produces a variety of essential hormones that help to regulate blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, and body weight.

Thyroid cancer can be slow-growing or aggressive, and most are curable.

Types of Thyroid Cancer

There are several types of thyroid cancer, which are classified according to the cells found within the tumor.

Most thyroid cancer diagnoses fall into the differentiated category, which encompasses cancers that develop in the cells that create and store thyroid hormones. This includes the following:

• Papillary thyroid cancer the most common kind of thyroid cancer. Patients of any age can develop this disease, although it is most common between ages 30 and 50. Papillary thyroid cancer is generally small and treatable. However, sometimes it becomes aggressive and spreads to distant areas of the body.
• Hurthle cell thyroid cancer is an uncommon cancer that is aggressive and often grows into the neck’s structures and other body parts.
• Follicular thyroid cancer a rare type of thyroid cancer primarily affecting people aged over 50. This cancer tends to spread to the bones and lungs.
• Poorly differentiated thyroid cancer, which is more aggressive than other cancers in the differentiated category and doesn’t typically respond well to conventional treatment.

Other types of thyroid cancer include:

• Anaplastic thyroid cancer, a rare cancer that grows rapidly with significant symptoms that onset quickly.
• Medullary thyroid cancer, which develops in thyroid cells known as C cells that produce calcitonin, a hormone that regulates calcium levels in the blood.
• Extremely rare thyroid cancers, including thyroid lymphoma and thyroid sarcoma.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer?

Patients with early-stage thyroid cancer do not typically experience signs and symptoms of the disease. However, as the cancer advances, it may result in the following:

• A lump or nodule that can be detected by touching the skin on the neck
• High-neck or close-fitting shirt collars become too tight
• Increased hoarseness and other changes to the voice
• Pain in the throat and neck
• Problems swallowing
• Swollen lymph nodes

What Are the Causes and Risk Factors for Thyroid Cancer?

Thyroid cancer occurs when cells in the thyroid develop mutations in their DNA. These mutations cause the cells to grow quickly and out of control. Over time, the cells accumulate into a tumor.

Left untreated, the tumor can grow in size, affect tissue in close proximity, and spread to the lymph nodes in the neck and distant areas of the body. This process is called metastasizing.

In most cases, doctors are unsure what causes DNA mutations that result in thyroid cancer. However, there are risk factors that increase a person’s likelihood of a diagnosis:

• Being assigned female sex at birth, as thyroid cancer occurs more frequently in women than in men.
• Radiation exposure, including radiation therapy targeting the head and neck area.
• Inherited genetic syndromes include multiple endocrine neoplasia, Cowden syndrome, and familial medullary thyroid.

How Is Thyroid Cancer Conventionally Treated?

In a conventional context, thyroid cancer is typically treated with surgery that partially (thyroidectomy) or fully (thyroid lobectomy) removes the thyroid or lymph nodes in the neck.

Following a thyroid lobectomy, patients are required to take synthetic thyroid hormone replacements for the remainder of their lives. Without a thyroid, they no longer produce the hormones needed to support the body’s metabolic processes.

In some cases, radioactive iodine treatment is used, which uses a radioactive form of iodine to kill the thyroid's healthy and cancerous cells. Side effects include a dry or painful mouth, an altered sense of smell, and inflamed eyes.

Usually, undifferentiated thyroid cancers do not respond to external radiotherapy or chemotherapy. In addition, patients with aggressive tumors and thyroid cancer that has metastasized are unlikely to achieve their desired outcome with surgery. In these cases, chemotherapy and other conventional treatments may not improve survival.

How We Treat Thyroid Cancer Holistically

Conventional treatment is not the only option. If you or a loved one has a thyroid cancer diagnosis, you do not have to suffer the side effects of traditional therapies. Instead, you can leverage the healing power of natural, science-backed treatments that target cancer’s weaknesses and uplift the immune system. Our options include insulin potentiation therapy (Low-Dose Metronomic Chemotherapy), ozone therapy, Weber Laser, immunotherapy, and nutrition.

At Brio-Medical, our holistic treatment approach is personalized to meet the unique needs and preferences of each and every one of our patients. We believe in empowering every aspect of your health – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual – to improve the quality of your life and provide hope and support as you navigate this challenging journey.

You can learn more about our alternative cancer treatments. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how we help people living with thyroid cancer, please do not hesitate to reach out to our patient care coordinators.

Resources:

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• Nguyen, Quang T et al. “Diagnosis and treatment of patients with thyroid cancer.” American health & drug benefits vol. 8,1 (2015): 30-40.
• Paeng, Jin Chul et al. “Alternative medical treatment for radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancers.” Nuclear medicine and molecular imaging vol. 45,4 (2011): 241-7. doi:10.1007/s13139-011-0107-7
• Raffaelli, Marco et al. “Total thyroidectomy versus thyroid lobectomy in the treatment of papillary carcinoma.” Gland surgery vol. 9,Suppl 1 (2020): S18-S27. doi:10.21037/gs.2019.11.09
• Zarebczan, B, and H Chen. “Multi-targeted approach in the treatment of thyroid cancer.” Minerva chirurgica vol. 65,1 (2010): 59-69.