Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer

In the early stages, thyroid cancer rarely cause symptoms, even tend not to exist at all. However, if it has entered the advanced stage, thyroid cancer is often characterized by the appearance of a lump or swelling on the front of the neck, more precisely under the Adam's apple, and usually does not hurt.

There are several other symptoms that appear after the cancer enters an advanced stage, including:

Sore throat.
Difficulty in swallowing.
The sound becomes hoarse and does not improve after a few weeks.
Pain in the neck.
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck.

Not all lumps that appear in the thyroid gland are caused by thyroid cancer. Most of the swelling of the thyroid gland is caused by a condition known as mumps disease. This condition is caused by hyperthyroidism (too many T3 and T4 hormones) or hypothyroidism (deficiency of T3 and T4 hormones).

Risk Factors of Thyroid Cancer

The exact cause of thyroid cancer is still unknown, but there are several factors that can increase the risk of this condition, among others:

- Experiencing thyroid disorders. People who have had benign thyroid disease, such as inflammation of the thyroid gland or mumps, have a greater risk of thyroid cancer than those who have never experienced it.

- Family health history. Genetic abnormalities are the cause of some cases of thyroid carcinoma. The risk of thyroid cancer increases if a person has a family who has had this cancer.

- Height and weight. The risk of thyroid cancer will increase if a person has excess weight. The risk will also increase in adults with an above average height.

- Exposure to radiation. Radiation from nuclear or radiation from certain medical treatments can increase a person's risk of developing thyroid cancer, especially if the radiation is about the neck and head.

- Indigestion. If a person has familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) digestive disorders, he is at higher risk of developing thyroid cancer. FAP is a hereditary disease caused by a defective gene.

- Gender. Women have a risk of thyroid cancer 2-3 times more than men. This condition may be related to the hormone released when a woman has menstruation or when she is pregnant.

- Acromegaly. This is a rare condition where the body produces too much growth hormone. This condition causes people who experience acromegaly more at risk of thyroid cancer.

It is important to remember that people who have one or more of the above risk factors will not necessarily have thyroid cancer in the future. In many cases, some people with thyroid cancer also do not experience the above risk factors.