 |
|
|
|
 |
Thyroid Cancer: Treatment Options | |
|
How is it treated? There are many ways to treat thyroid cancer. Your doctor will recommend a combination of these methods to best suit your particular situation. Many factors, including your age, general health, and severity of the cancer, must be taken into account when determining a treatment plan. These are examples of some common treatments. It is important to talk to your doctor about any questions or concerns you may have with regard to your treatment, illness, and over all well being. Surgery: Surgery is the most common treatment for all types of thyroid cancers. During surgery, the patient is put under an anesthetic, or into a sleep like state, and the doctor removes the cancer by taking out all or part of the thyroid gland. Patients who are missing some section of their thyroid gland may need to take hormone therapy in the form of pills. Total Thyroidectomy - In this technique, the surgeon removes the entire thyroid gland, as well as any affected tissue in the surrounding area. On occasion, certain lymph nodes may also need to be removed. Often, the removed tissue is taken to a pathologist to analyze the cancer cells. Thyroid hormone replacement is necessary after this procedure. Lobectomy - This procedure is most often used on patients with follicle or papillary thyroid cancer. A lobectomy is the removal of the thyroid lobe that has the cancer cells. Radio Iodine Therapy: Radio Iodine Therapy is also referred to as 1-131 and works best on patients with papillary or follicular thyroid cancers if they pick up iodine when a tracer dose has been given. Radioactive Iodine is used to destroy any thyroid tissue remaining after surgery and to treat thyroid cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes and to other areas of the body. It is done by having the patient ingest capsules or small amounts of radioactive iodine liquid. The iodine then eliminates the cancer cells. When given in low doses, patients are usually able to return home after treatment. This is called an outpatient program. Those patients receiving higher doses of radiation may be required to remain in the hospital for 2-3 days after the treatment, or for monitoring throughout the duration of the treatment process. External Radiation Therapy: External radiation therapy targets the area of the tumor with radiation emitted by a large machine. The high energy waves of the machine help to shrink the tumor. Patients receiving external radiation therapy often receive treatment in a clinic or a hospital 5 days a week for several weeks. Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. These drugs can be delivered either orally, in the form of pills, or intravenously, directly into the blood stream through a needle placed into a blood vessel. In chemotherapy, combinations of drugs tend to be more effective than just one type of drug by itself. Chemotherapy drugs can usually be taken in a doctor's office or hospital, or even at home in some cases. Usually, the patient will receive treatment every day for a few weeks. The patient will then have some time off from the medicine in order to build up strength and allow his or her immune system to recover. This cycle can continue until the doctor determines the cancer has stopped spreading or the tumor is beginning to shrink. Clinical Trials: In some cases, your doctor may recommend, or you may wish to consider, participating in a clinical trial. Clinical Trials are carefully monitored research studies that provide patients with the opportunity to receive the most up-to-date, state-of-the-art care. In a clinical trial, new advancements in cancer treatment are compared to the current, most effective existing treatment. All participants are either treated with an existing and effective method, or with a new, innovative method. Patients in trials have access to the newest drugs, procedures, and treatments. While the side effects of clinical trials depend on the exact treatment used, patients who have participated in clinical trials in the past have found their experience to be valuable. Clinical trials are being conducted in cities and towns across the country, and often times, clinical trial covers many of the costs. Your doctor or health care provider can give you more information on clinical trials in your area. You may also contact the Rhode Island Cancer Council who can help you find a clinical trial in your area. What are the side effects of the treatments? Below is a list of side effects most often reported for the treatments described. It is important to remember that everyone reacts differently to medical procedures. Your doctor can also tell you what to expect following treatment. Communicating with your doctor throughout the treatment plan can make recovery a smooth process. Surgery: Discomfort during the first few weeks following surgery is not uncommon. Some patients find that the site of the surgery is sore. Also, the anesthetic used during surgery can leave a patient feeling tired for several days. Often, doctors will prescribe medicine to treat the pain associated with surgery. In rare cases, thyroid surgery may leave patients with voice or muscle problems in the neck. Patients taking hormones following surgical removal of the thyroid may also experience some side effects including dry skin and hair, coldness, hot flashes, sweaty skin, and weight loss or weight gain. It is important to see your doctor regularly so that he or she can monitor the level of thyroid hormone in your blood and help to minimize side effects. Radioactive Iodine Therapy: This can include temporary loss or weakened sense of taste and smell as well as dry mouth. It is important to remain well hydrated and drink plenty if water. This will lessen the effects of radioactivity on the rest of your body. Following the course of radioactive iodine therapy, women are advised to avoid pregnancy for up to a year. Also, men should avoid planning a pregnancy with their partner until they seek medical advice. Men may experience permanent infertility. External Radiation Therapy: It is recommended that patients receiving external radiation therapy make an attempt to remain as active as possible despite feeling tired. Patients also tend to experience redness or swelling at the site of the radiation, usually the neck. Your doctor can provide special lotions to treat the skin, but it is important to use only those lotions and to avoid other products. Radiation may also lead to hoarseness of the voice or difficulty swallowing. If the radiation is applied locally to the neck, fertility is not usually threatened. Chemotherapy: The medicine used in chemotherapy targets and kills the cancer cells in the body. Cancer cells are identified by the medicine as those cells that divide rapidly. Many times, chemotherapy not only kills these cancer cells, but it can damage or even reduce the number of normal, healthy cells in the body, in particular, those healthy cells which divide rapidly. These cells include:
As a result, a chemotherapy patient may experience some side effects such as sores inside the mouth, digestive problems such as loss of appetite or nausea and vomiting. Patients also tend to experience hair loss as a result of chemotherapy. The immune system also suffers because the body is less able to fight off infection and produce blood cells. A lack of red blood cells may also result in fatigue and a decrease in platelets can cause easy bruising. These side effects are, for the most part, temporary and will go away when the chemotherapy is stopped. Some of the permanent side effects include early menopause in women and infertility in both men and women. Follow up: After treatment, patients still need to be in touch with their oncologists to be sure that the cancer does not return. Your doctor may also perform a number of tests to measure the level of hormones in the blood and monitor thyroid function. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise and a healthy diet low in fat can help to speed recovery and prevent further illness.
See also:
|
|
|
Designed & maintained by: Keith McCain |