Informative Speech On Thyroid Cancer

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, also called Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the thyroid gland. It was named for the Japanese surgeon who discovered it in 1912 The thyroid is a small butterfly shaped gland in the front of the neck. The thyroid makes hormones called T3 and T4. These hormones regulate metabolism. The thyroid is controlled by hormones of the pituitary gland, which is also called the “master gland.” It is a pea-sized gland located in the base of the brain which, among others, makes thyroid stimulating hormone, or TSH. TSH stimulates the thyroid to make thyroid hormone. With Hashimoto’s disease, the thyroid cells are damaged resulting in the inability to make enough thyroid

Incidentally, there are actually two compounds made in the thyroid that are called thyroid hormone. The most abundant is T4, also known as thyroxine, which is then converted to T3, or triiodothyronine. T3 is the active form that produces the effects on metabolism.

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 Cancer is a thyroid neoplasm that develops in the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland consists of two large lobes that are connected by the isthmus and is located below the larynx on both sides of the trachea. The gland secretes hormones from the hypothalamus that may be stored in the colloid or released into the blood in capillaries. In the endocrine system, the thyroid gland secretes hormones that act on cells with specific receptors called target cells. When cancer develops in the thyroid, the production of hormones is disrupted. The cancer cells in the thyroid do not grow or divide normally and can develop into growths or tumors.

Hypothyroidism is not a disease itself, but is a condition that a disease state causes (Buckley & Schub, 2008). Many of the causes of hypothyroidism are related to autoimmune conditions, where the body attacks itself, rendering the thyroid useless (Raisbeck, 2009). In fact, this is the most common cause of hypothyroidism (Raisbeck, 2009). Second to autoimmune disease is overcorrection of hyperthyroidism by surgery or radiation treatment (Walker, 2009). Thyroidectomy is the third most-prevalent cause, usually for the treatment of cancer

The thyroid gland is found in the front of the neck and produces two main hormones. The hormones are called thuroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3). Together these hormones regulate the body’s metabolism by increasing energy use in cells, regulate growth and development, help to maintain body temperature and aid in oxygen consumption. These two hormones are regulated by hormones produced by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. The hypothalamus senses changes in body’s metabolic rate and releases a hormone known as thyropin-releasing hormone (TRH). This hormone then flows through connecting vessels to the pituitary gland which signals it to release another hormone. This hormone is known as thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). TSH then makes

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 most common endocrine system malignancy in the Unites States is thyroid cancer. The majority of diagnosed thyroid cancers are classified as differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). More specifically, these cancers are either papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) or follicular thyroid cancers (FTC), with 80.2% being diagnosed as papillary and 11.4% as follicular (Avram, 2012). DTC is the fifth most common cancer among females and has ten year survival rates of 97% for PTC and 94% for FTC (Khan et al., 2015; Marcus, Whitworth, Surasis, Pai, & Subramaniam, 2014). The majority of patients diagnosed with DTC receive a near-total or total thyroidectomy. Some patients also have lymph nodes or surrounding tissue removed as well dependent on metastases (Avram, 2012).

There has been much research done on thyroid cancer. The thyroid gland is located below the Adam’s apple in one’s neck. In order for a thyroid gland to be considered normal, the patient should not be experiencing any symptoms that would be the result of having too much or too little thyroid hormones being produced by the gland.

Once the disease is identified as anaplastic thyroid cancer, the next step is treatment. With anaplastic thyroid cancer, one must be very diligent with treatment. Treatment should begin as close to the date of diagnoses as possible, as anaplastic thyroid cancer is very aggressive and extremely fatal. If treatment is not administered quickly or effectively, there is a significantly high chance of fatality of the patient. Since the treatment has to counteract the disease’s aggression, it

Nuclear medicine and molecular imaging are used in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer. Some common nuclear medicine studies that relate to thyroid cancer are thyroid ablations, whole body Iodine 131 cancer studies, SPECT/CT and thyroid uptake and scans. Thyroid uptake and scans are used in the discovery of metastases from thyroid cancer. These uptake and scans can be done using Iodine 123 and 131. The patient are given the capsules and instructed to come back for uptake counts between 4-6 hours and 24 hours. When being done with a scan the patient is also scanned at those times. The use of SPECT/CT is also useful in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. According to Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Technology the advantages of SPECT/CT include “accurate anatomic localization and characterization of radioiodine foci as benign (such as thyroid remnant tissue or physio­logic activity in normal

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism a few years back. For those who aren’t aware of it, the thyroid gland in our bodies is responsible for controlling our metabolism. In order to keep things normal, the pituitary gland releases a thyroid-stimulating hormone to arouse it. As a response, the thyroid releases two hormones, T3 and T4. When one has hypothyroidism, thyroid gland stops producing enough of these two hormones and that is where the imbalance begins. This comes tied with symptoms such as fatigue, depression, irritability, increased sensitivity to cold, aches and pains, weight gain, fogginess and occasional forgetfulness. Ever since my diagnosis, I have been forced to take hormone replacement medications and will continue to do till the day I die.

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped nodule found in the neck just under the Adam's apple. This organ is the largest in the endocrine system, a system of glands responsible for releasing the hormones such as triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) that control necessary body functions. Thyroid cancer is characterized by malignant growth resulting from the division of abnormal thyroid cells. The disease isn't very common in the United States — 95% of reported nodule growths turn out to be benign and not cancerous. In addition, most thyroid cancers are very treatable. However, the disease shows very few symptoms so it takes a bit of time to diagnose.

Thyroid cancer starts in the thyroid gland. The thyroid glands are found in the thyroid cartilage in the front of the neck. In the thyroid glands there are two main types of cells: Follicular cells and C cells. In the Follicular cells use iodine from the blood to produce thyroid hormones, which regulate a person's metabolism. In the C cells make hormones to regulate calcium in the body. Causes for thyroid cancer are still unknown. Most do believe that changes in a person's DNA can cause thyroid cells to become cancerous. Some risk factors for thyroid cancer are smoking, family history, and a person's age. Some risk factors that can be changed are having a low iodine diet and limited radiation. Some ways to prevent the cancer are get tested

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).