Fundamentals
The Cancer Roadmap
Discover the tools and treatments you might encounter along your journey back to wellness.
1. Detecting Symptoms
It’s common for patients to discover their thyroid nodules by accident. Learn more.
3. Therapy & Other Treatments
Determine the best treatment. Whether that’s surgery, adjunctive therapy or a more conservative approach. Learn more.
4. Periodic Follow-up
Follow-up visits are required to evaluate the current status of disease. Learn more.
Detection
Thyroid nodules are commonly discovered by a patient at home or by a physician during a routine physical exam.
General Warning Signs
- A lump in the neck.
- Change in voice (e.g. hoarse voice).
- Difficulty with swallowing.
Diagnosis
Ultrasound is the initial study to undergo when a suspicious mass is found in the neck.
The size, shape and other characteristics of the thyroid nodule will be assessed to decide whether a biopsy is necessary.
Fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNA) are performed to obtain a sample of the cells inside the nodule, this way cancer can be confirmed or ruled out.
Treatment & Therapy
Surgery
The extent of surgery will be determined by the size of the thyroid nodule, and the presence of adverse features on ultrasound or biopsy results.
Additionally the presence of suspicious lymph nodes or disease outside the thyroid gland that involves surrounding structures may require more extensive surgery.
The extent of the surgery could include the removal of half of the thyroid gland or the removal of the entire gland, with or without central and lateral neck lymph node dissection.
Adjunctive Therapy
After surgery, the removed tissue will undergo pathologic evaluation. According to the tumor characteristics, the cancer will be classified according to the risk of recurrence.
Doctors will discuss with patients if additional therapy is thought to be necessary to eradicate cancer, according to the the risk of recurrence that was previously calculated.
Follow-Up
Patients will have to attend to recurrent follow-up visits. These will be frequent shortly after treatment is complete, but will be less frequent over time.
Follow-Up Tests That Evaluate Disease
Patient Resources
Check out some helpful resources, including books, online information, mobile apps, support groups and more.
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