Thyroid Cancer Research Paper

The thyroid controls all of the organs in the human body, if the thyroid has cancer the body cannot function like it should. According to American Cancer Society thyroid cancer is a brutal cancer that about 62,450 Americans have. Women are more susceptible to this disease than men, and this disease is diagnosed at a young age. Out of the 62,450 cases of thyroid cancer only about 1,080 people die of this each year, although this is a lot of people it is a very small percentage of the cases. The symptoms of this cancer can often be confused with other problems. About 60% of victims don’t even realize that they have a thyroid disease until it is too late. This cancer can be caused by many things, this disease can be genetic, can come from exposure to radiation, being overweight, producing too much growth hormone, and diabetes. There is only a few prevention methods for thyroid cancer. These include: limiting exposure to radiation, and controlling body weight. However genetics, and producing too much growth hormone is out of the human’s control. Without treatment the life expectancy is about five years, but with treatment there should be no change in life span. There are five treatments for thyroid cancer and they are typically successful in killing the cancer. These treatments include surgery, hormone control, and use of iodine,
radiation, and sometimes chemotherapy. Now let's talk about how confusing this cancer is. The symptoms of thyroid cancer can be confused with other diseases, such as hashimoto's, hypothyroidism, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Doctors have a hard time diagnosing thyroid problems in general. For example my mom has hashimotos and the medical staff had that confused with hypothyroidism, and they were giving her the wrong treatment for years. According to Shawnda Combs “Thyroid diseases are tricky because the symptoms, and the disease can change. A thyroid can go from having hypothyroidism to hyperthyroidism overnight. When somebody is extremely fatigued they might go to the doctor and they might get diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. When the thyroid is wearing out it will produce the wrong amount of hormones at the wrong time so the body will naturally feel tired and fatigued”. All of these diseases can be confused with thyroid cancer, if the doctor misreads symptoms they will give the wrong treatment and then the cancer will go untreated. The next subject is how many causes there are for thyroid cancer
There is a lot of causes for thyroid cancer.
Cancer can be caused by genetics, exposure to radiation, obesity, over production of the growth hormone, and diabetes. Overproduction of the growth hormone can cause cancer due to the fact that cancer is the overproduction of cells. Diabetes can cause cancer because people with an autoimmune disease are more likely to catch other diseases, and According to American Cancer Institute, radiation kills the DNA in cells so it can cause mutations in future generation cells. There is not very many prevention methods for thyroid cancer but these are ways to lower the possibility of getting thyroid
cancer.
There are 2 prevention methods that can be used to prevent thyroid cancer. These include limiting exposure to radiation, and controlling body weight. Sadly, the other causes are completely out of one's control. One example of limiting exposure to radiation is when doctors x-rays they usually make the patient wear a lead vest to block the radiation from getting to the body, they also leave the room when the camera takes the picture. That way they limit their own exposure. A person's body weight can be controlled by a healthy diet and exercise. Some might think about quality of life instead of the length of their life, so let's see how long the body could function without treatment. Even though there is not much anybody can do to prevent this cancer the treatments are almost always effective.
Thankfully there are treatments for this cancer, and they are usually successful. The most common is surgery, in this case the doctors are forced to remove the thyroid. When they remove the thyroid the patient is put on hormonal medicine to supply the body with the hormones that it needs. Another treatment is hormone control, almost any thyroid disease is treated with hormone control. This is because if there is something wrong with the thyroid the body's hormones are messed up. One treatment is the use of iodine, the use of iodine is along the same line as using hormone control. When the thyroid is messed up it produces the wrong amount of hormones so iodine is a supplement to help control the amount hormones produced. The last treatment is the use of radiation. Some might be confused because radiation can cause thyroid cancer but doctors use radiation for treating it. According to American Cancer Institute, bad radiation kills the DNA in cells so it can cause mutations within the cell. And cancer is the controllable growth of cells then killing some cells would help regulate growth. The rarest treatment is chemotherapy, this is the least common because not only does it kill bad cells but it can also kill good cells and doctors don't want to damage the thyroid any more than it already is. Some might wonder, would it be better to go without treatment for quality of life?
If someone goes without treatment the average life expectancy is about five years, but within those five years the body undergoes a vicious cycle. Without seeking treatment the cancer will spread. This is because the thyroid controls all of the organs in the body, and if the thyroid is sending hormones everywhere then the cancer will spread.
In conclusion thyroid cancer is a hidden cancer that many people get confused with other diseases. There are many causes for thyroid cancer, and there are not many prevention methods that can be used but if you have the cancer then the treatments are usually successful.