SURGERY

• Surgery is the most common treatment for thyroid cancer. The time it takes to heal after surgery is different for each person. You may be uncomfortable for the first few days and medicine can help control your pain. Before surgery, you should discuss the plan for pain relief with your doctor or nurse.(for thyroid cancer the surgery is a must not an option for the treatment).
• The type of surgery depends on the type and stage of thyroid cancer, the size of the nodules and patient’s age. One of the following procedures may be used:

1. 1. Total Thyroidectomy: Removal of the whole thyroid.
   2. Lobectomy: Removal of the lobe in which thyroid cancer is found. Biopsies of lymph nodes in the area may be done to see if they contain cancer.
   3. Near-total thyroidectomy: Removal of all but a very small part of the thyroid.
   4. Lymphadenectomy: Removal of lymph nodes in the neck that contain cancer

THERAPY

• Radioactive Iodine Therapy
• External Radiation Therapy (Radiotherapy)

 
RADIOACTIVE IODINE THERAPY 

• Radioactive iodine therapy uses radioactive iodine (I-131) to destroy thyroid cancer cells anywhere in the body. The therapy is given as a pill or liquid that you swallow in a small dose that causes no problems for people who are allergic to iodine. This treatment is used to:

1. Kills thyroid cancer cells and healthy thyroid cells that remain in the body after surgery.
2. Treat thyroid cancer that recurs after treatment or that spreads to other areas of the body.

• Before this treatment patient has to be of iodine free diet for at least 4-6 weeks or using recombinant TSH to increase the TSH level before Radioactive Iodine Therapy.
• If the dose of I-131 is low enough, the patients can go home afterward. If the dose is high, the patients have to stay in the hospital for protecting others, especially children and pregnant women from radiation exposure during the treatment. Most radiation is gone in a few days.
• During treatment, you can help protect your bladder and other healthy tissues by drinking a lot of fluids. Drinking fluids help I-131 pass out of the body faster.
• Patients with medullary thyroid cancer or anaplastic thyroid cancer generally do not receive I-131 treatment. These types of thyroid cancer rarely respond to I-131 therapy.

The side effects for this treatment may include:

• Nausea
• Dry mouth
• Dry eyes
• Altered sense of taste or smell
• Pain where thyroid cancer cells have spread, such as the neck or chest
• A rare side effect in men who receive a high dose of I-131 is the loss of fertility. In women, I-131 may not cause loss of fertility, but some doctors advise women to avoid getting pregnant for one year after a high dose of I-131. 

 
EXTERNAL RADIATION THERAPY (RADIOTHERAPY) 

• Radiotherapy uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells through a large machine. The large machine directs radiation at the neck or at parts of the body where the cancer has spread. The therapy is used to:

1. 1. Treat thyroid cancer that cannot be treated by surgery and radioactive iodine treatment.
   2. Treat cancer that returns after treatment or to treat bone pain from cancer that has spread.
   3. Relieve pain or other problems.

Most patients go to the hospital or clinic for their treatment, usually 5 days a week for several weeks. Each treatment takes only a few minutes. Usually patients normally get tired during the treatment, but doctor advice the patients to stay as active as they can.

•  Side effect:

1. 1. A dry, sore mouth and throat, hoarseness, or trouble swallowing if the radiation to the neck
   2. Skin in the treated area may become red, dry, and tender.

• The side effects usually go away after treatment ends.

Updated:: 18/03/2019 []