How Does Chernobyl Get Thyroid Cancer

Not many people fully know what happened at Chernobyl, or understand the effect it has had on today’s nuclear science. Chernobyl has been named as the largest man-made disaster ever recorded. Chernobyl is the most influential and important event during the 1980’s because it has completely changed how the world views anything nuclear by changing experimentation and usage of nuclear materials and power as a whole. It was extremely influential because it caused thousands of people to move out of their homes, while damaging nearby cities and countries and covering the surrounding area in radioactive smog, and is still a threat to surrounding cities and countries today. It also has caused the nearby area to be thriving with wildlife.

Radiation is part of the aftermath of war. In “Thunder in Roses” people everywhere are affected. The author stated “The air is becoming radioactive.” (Sturgeon 191). Only a few million people were left after the war hit them. Most of the bombs that hit the states were nuclear. “So saturated is the atmosphere with Carbon Fourteen

More than 50% of all patients show signs of distant metastases at the time of diagnosis1. Prognosis remains abysmal, as 90% of patients die within 6 months of diagnosis due to distant metastases or local invasion8. Patients younger than 60 year of age with involvement limited only to the thyroid have a better outlook than older individuals with signs of metastasis5. Ultimately, ATC accounts for more than 50% of all thyroid malignancy-related deaths1.

Thyroid nodules, or lumps, are very common. They occur in over half of the world's population, but only 5 per cent of them are cancerous. Nodules are referred to as either 'hot' or 'cold,' depending on the amount of radioactive iodine it concentrates, or takes up, when testing for the type of nodule it is.

Many animals were affected by Chernobyl. The main reason they were affected was because they eat the grass that grows out of contaminated ground. The radiation also but new species like the Przewalski’s horse. The reason why the horse came is because that the populations of people went down since they went extinct to the area. That caused more animals to mutate. After the first few years, the levels of radioactive materials in plants and animals lowered quickly because of weather and decay. The levels have still gone down in the last ten years but not as quickly as it once

Most are common only around 5% coming to be cancerous. Most times when a person has a thyroid nodule they have no symptoms. If the nodule is causing your glands to make too many hormones it can cause what is called hyperthyroidism. Symptoms of this include palpitations, rapid heart rate, anxiety, restlessness and an increased appetite. If your doctor suspects thyroid nodules they will do tests such as an ultrasound or a thyroid scan. A good example of a procedure done by an endocrinologist is an LHRH test. This test is done to see how your pituitary gland is working when it comes to regulating sex hormone production. The night of this procedure you are to not eat or drink anything. When you go in, you will be made comfortable and have a small needle inserted into a vein in your hand or arm. This is just to get a blood sample and is not to stay. Whoever is taking the blood will use a needle such as a ventflon to make drawing the blood sample easy with little to no discomfort. The blood is then checked for hormones LH and LSH then you get an injection to make the levels of those hormones rise. You will have blood drawn twice. Once each after 30

Follicular tumors, on the other hand, grow only on one side of the gland. These tumors develop in the hormone-producing cells and account for 30% - 50% of all thyroid cancers (Thackery 1057). Medullary thyroid tumors account for 5% - 7% of all thyroid cancers, and are usually uncommon. Like papillary tumors, they grow on one or both sides of the gland. Anaplastic tumors, though extremely rare, develop on either side of the thyroid gland and spread rapidly to other parts of the body. It account for only 2% of all thyroid cancers but is the fastest growing, and most aggressive thyroid cancer type (Thackery 1057).

e. People who have had a thyroid problem before, received radiation for a thyroid problem, or had surgery on the thyroid are most likely to develop hypothyroidism.

A thyroid nodule is an isolated growth of thyroid cells that forms a lump in your thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland. It is found in the lower front of your neck. This gland sends chemical messengers (hormones) through your blood to all parts of your body. These hormones are important for regulating your body temperature and helping your body use energy. Thyroid nodules are common. Most are not cancerous (benign). You may have one or several nodules.

The spread of the radioactivity hospitalized 203 people from Ukraine of whom 31 died just from the radioactivity itself. (Strauss)thyroid

Thyroid cancer is a common endocrine malignant tumor (1). Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common of the well-differentiated carcinomas (85%) (2) and is characterized by distinctive nuclear features.

Thyroid nodules are lumps in the thyroid often called adenomas. These adenomas are quite common affecting around seven percent our countries population. These lumps on the thyroid can become very active and thus produce a large amount of thyroid hormone. In some cases hyperthyroidism is brought on by consuming too much medication that treats an underactive thyroid.

According to the data, American over the age of 65 years of age who have broad health insurance coverage through Medicare that allows them preventive care with incentives vs. among those under 65, in which health insurance coverage is not universal; the rate of increase in thyroid cancer has been slower about 6.4%. Over the three decades, the mortality from thyroid cancer has not changed however incidences have tripled. Over 36 years, the incidence of thyroid cancer in the United States increased to 3.6 times the 1973 rate from 3.5 per 100,000 to 12.5 per 100,000 in 2009. The majority of the increased incidence was attributable to cancers below palpable size, 65.1% of the increase was comprised of tumors <2.0cm in size. The majority of this increased occurred after 1993, when the incidence was 4.3 per 100,000. The annual percent change between 1993 and 2009 was 6.7%. Mortality has remained unchanged since data were first reported in

At this time, it is not clear how much diagnostic radiation is contributing to the increase in thyroid cancer cases. It is possible that the increase in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer can be attributed to a greater rate of detection by use of ultrasonography and fine needle aspiration3. The thyroid tissue itself is among the tissues that are less sensitive to radiation, however, thyroid cancer is still such a concern because the thyroid is so superficial in the body1 (77). “Even doses as small as 50–100 mGy have been associated with an increased risk of thyroid malignancy in children, with a

The differentiation of single benign nodule and malignant one is considered an important goal. Early diagnosis of thyroid cancer avoids unneeded surgery in those complaining of benign nodules and decreases both mortality and morbidity rates of the disease (2).