Cancer is a serious and potentially deadly disease that occurs when abnormal cells grow and divide uncontrollably. They can then spread to other tissues and organs.
There are more than 200 types of cancer that can affect the body. Some are more well known than others with their symptoms easier to spot.
One specific type of cancer falls into the lesser-known category, with people urged to look out for any of its warning signs. According to the NHS, thyroid cancer is a rare form of cancer, accounting for less than one percent of all cancer cases in the UK.
It can be hard to know whether you have it or not. Many symptoms of thyroid cancer are vague and may resemble other less-serious conditions, meaning it’s possible you could have thyroid cancer for months or even years without knowing it.
The thyroid gland is a small gland found in the neck, just in front of the windpipe. One of its main jobs is to create the hormones that help regulate the body’s metabolism, which is the process of turning food into energy.
Thyroid cancer develops in the thyroid gland. For this reason the most common symptoms of the disease affect the neck and throat, such as finding a lump there or having difficulty swallowing.
But these signs could be easily mistaken for something else or ignored.
The MD Anderson Cancer Centre notes that patients diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer, the main type of thyroid cancer, “often have symptoms that they dismiss for years” until receiving a diagnosis.
And a study, by the University of Aberdeen, found it takes an average of four and a half years for any thyroid type of condition to be diagnosed.
Symptoms
The NHS states that the cancer is quite rare and typically affects women more than men.
Women are two to three times more likely to develop thyroid cancer than men. It’s unclear why this is, but it may be a result of the hormonal changes associated with the female reproductive system.
The most common symptoms include:
- A lump in the front, lower part of your neck – the lump usually feels hard, slowly gets bigger and is not painful
- A hoarse voice
- A sore throat
- Difficulty swallowing or breathing
- Pain in the front of your neck, or a feeling like something is pressing against your neck.
Other symptoms can include:
- A red face (flushing) – this may be harder to see on brown or black skin
- Softer poos or diarrhoea
- Weight loss
- A cough.
If you experience any symptoms you should speak to your GP.
You usually have several tests to check for thyroid cancer. If you have cancer these tests can also help your doctor decide what treatment you need.
These tests include:
- An ultrasound scan to create a picture of your thyroid gland
- A test to look at a sample of cells from your thyroid (biopsy)
- Scans to find out if your cancer has spread (CT scan or MRI scan).
Different types of thyroid cancer
Your type of thyroid cancer depends on the type of cell the cancer starts in.
There are different types of thyroid cancer including:
- Papillary thyroid cancer
- Follicular thyroid cancer
- Oncocytic cell thyroid cancer
- Medullary thyroid cancer
- Anaplastic thyroid cancer.
It is not always clear why someone gets thyroid cancer.
However, your risk can be increased if:
- You’re a woman and have not been through the menopause
- You have a brother, sister, parent or child who has had thyroid cancer
- You were exposed to a lot of radiation or had radiotherapy treatment in the past
- You’ve had certain cancers before such as breast, oesophageal and testicular cancer or non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- You have a condition that affects the thyroid such as a swollen thyroid (goitre), Hashimoto’s disease or nodules (non-cancerous lumps) in or on your thyroid.