Thyroid Cancer

Early-stage thyroid cancer rarely causes symptoms, or symptoms are mild and few.

The most common symptom of thyroid cancer is a painless lump or swelling in the neck. However, it’s important to know that most thyroid lumps are benign (non-cancerous), and only around 1 to 2 in 20 are cancerous.

Other symptoms of thyroid cancer to look out for include:

• vocal changes, especially hoarseness that doesn’t go away after a few weeks

• a sore throat or difficulty swallowing that doesn’t improve

• pain in your neck – it may feel as if something is pressing on it

• swollen lymph nodes in your neck

• facial redness (flushing), which may be harder to spot on brown or black skin

• a cough 

• diarrhoea

Thyroid cancer develops when the DNA of thyroid cells changes (mutates), causing cells to grow and reproduce uncontrollably. Scientists don’t know the exact cause, but there are several known risk factors, including:

• age and sex – women in their 40s and 50s and men in their 60s and 70s have a higher risk, and women are 3 times more likely to be diagnosed with thyroid cancer than men

• family history of thyroid disease or thyroid cancer

• having a benign thyroid condition, including an enlarged thyroid (goitre), Hashimoto's disease or nodules (adenomas)

• having certain health conditions, including systemic lupus erythematosus, acromegaly (a rare condition when the body produces too much growth hormone), cancer of the food pipe (oesophageal cancer), and breast cancer

• inheriting certain conditions or faulty genes – including links to conditions such as multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN), familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), and Cowden syndrome

• radiation exposure

• a diet low in iodine

• being obese (having a BMI of 30 or higher)

If you have any symptoms of thyroid cancer, it’s important to see a doctor as soon as possible so you can get a diagnosis and start treatment if it’s needed. Diagnosing thyroid cancer usually involves an initial consultation where your endocrinology specialist will:  

1. Take a history to get a full understanding of your family history, health status, and risk factors.

2. Get a full understanding of your symptoms and how they affect you – for example, what they are, what makes them worse or better, and how they affect your daily life, such as sleeping and working.

3. Carry out or recommend further tests such as:

• blood tests.

• an ultrasound scan of your neck.

• a biopsy of the thyroid gland.

• CT or PET scans

Preventing a specific cancer like this is very difficult. If you have a family history and risk factors your consultant may be able to recommend genetic testing and give you the option to have your thyroid gland removed if you have a faulty gene linked to thyroid cancer.

Drinking alcohol of any kind increases the risk of cancers, including food pipe (oesophageal) cancer, which is a risk factor for thyroid cancer, so you may want to reduce your alcohol consumption. Being obese is also directly linked to thyroid cancer – and 12 other types. So losing excess weight and keeping at a healthy weight are key.

There are some things you can do to help reduce the risk of cancer in general, such as:

• quitting smoking if you smoke

• eating a healthy diet

• exercising regularly

If you’re diagnosed with thyroid cancer, the gland may need to be removed, or it can be damaged by treatment. If this happens, you’ll need to have thyroid hormone replacement therapy for the rest of your life.

A major complication of thyroid cancer is metastasis. This is where the cancer spreads to other parts of your body, making it harder to treat. Detecting and treating thyroid cancer in the early stages reduces the risk of this happening.

Thyroid cancer comes back in around 30% of cases – it can take a long time to get a diagnosis of its return, as most cases grow slowly.

If you’re diagnosed with thyroid cancer, your specialist will prepare a treatment plan for you. The treatment will depend on the type of thyroid cancer you have, how large it is and if it has spread.

Your treatment plan may include:

• surgery – a full or partial thyroid removal (thyroidectomy). Your consultant may also remove some lymph nodes in your neck if the cancer has spread

• hormone therapy – if you have part or all of your thyroid removed, you’ll need hormone therapy to replace hormones usually produced by the gland. Hormone therapy can also help stop the cancer from coming back

• radioactive iodine treatment – this uses radiation taken as a tablet or drink to kill cancer cells. You may be given this treatment after surgery to kill any remaining cells or to stop the cancer from coming back, or if the cancer has spread

• targeted drug therapy – targeted medicines aim to stop cancer growing. You might have them if other treatments aren’t an option or have stopped working, or if the cancer has spread

• radiotherapy – radiotherapy uses high-energy rays of radiation to kill cancer cells and stop them from growing. You may have radiotherapy if the cancer can’t be removed with surgery. This isn’t common.

• chemotherapy – intravenous or oral chemotherapy medication works to kill cancer and stop cell growth. Very few people need chemotherapy for thyroid cancer, but it may be necessary if the cancer has spread to other areas of your body

Our consultants have access to multidisciplinary teams who can be brought in to support your personalised thyroid cancer management plan. This will include working with you to help make sure any treatment side effects are as manageable as possible.

At Welbeck, our endocrinology specialists are experts in their field and are dedicated to providing world-class care to every patient.

With access to colleagues across other specialties, our consultants are also able to refer within the Welbeck ecosystem if required to ensure you receive the treatment you need as quickly as possible, all under one roof.  

All appointments, testing, treatment, and follow-up appointments take place within our state-of-the-art facilities, enabling us to deliver accurate diagnostics and advanced treatments.

Your health is important to us, so we strive to offer same-day appointments whenever possible.

Our consultants are recognised by the major health insurance companies. If you have private health insurance, your treatment at Welbeck can begin once you have obtained authorisation. We also provide care to self-paying patients. Learn more about the different payment options at Welbeck.

Get in touch today to book an appointment.