#25 Thyroid Cancer Symptoms & Early Warning Signs
This video is all about thyroid cancer symptoms and early warning signs you may have cancer.
This is a topic worth discussing because many people who believe they have thyroid cancer probably don't.
The good news is that even though thyroid cancer is fairly common, it has a great survival rate with a 5-year survival rate of around 98%.
So, even if you do have thyroid cancer, it's one of the better types of cancers to have.
An interesting fact about thyroid cancer is that it typically does NOT cause any symptoms. In fact, most people who are diagnosed with thyroid cancer present to their doctor with a normal exam and without any symptoms.
In some cases, however, if your cancer is sufficiently large then it may cause problems to nearby structures in your neck.
Your neck is a tight place which means that if anything grows in that area it may push on or bump into other structures which may result in symptoms.
With that in mind, if your cancer is large enough it may present with the following symptoms:
- Compression of the esophagus or trachea
- Difficulty swallowing -
- Swelling or enlargement of the neck (bulge in the neck)
- Changes to speech including hoarseness
- Enlargement of lymph nodes in the neck
- Symptoms of thyroid goiter
- Pain in the neck, especially around the thyroid gland
- Constant non-productive cough
It's important to note that in the majority of cases thyroid cancer will not cause problems with the production of thyroid hormone (but you should still have it tested to be sure).
Some other conditions may mimic thyroid cancer and you want to watch out for these as well.
They include:
- Thyroid Nodules
- Thyroid Cysts
- Goiter
- Hashimoto's thyroiditis
These can be differentiated from thyroid cancer with an ultrasound test and certain blood markers.
If you suspect that you have thyroid cancer then your next steps should be:
- Complete history and physical exam
- Thyroid function lab tests (if you have symptoms such as fatigue, etc.)
- Thyroid ultrasound
- Biopsy (if necessary)
- Iodine testing
- Other blood tests such as inflammatory markers
These steps will help differentiate between thyroid cancer and the other conditions listed above.
Hey guys!
I'm Dr. Westin Childs and I focus on thyroid health, hormone balance, and weight loss. I write about thyroid disorders, weight loss, insulin resistance, estrogen/progesterone balance on my blog. I truly believe that hormone balance is the key to managing your weight, your mood and your quality of life which is why I'm so passionate about it.
I take a personalized/functional medicine approach to management of conditions. I'm not accepting patients but you can learn more and get plenty of information on my blog!
You can learn more about high-quality supplements that I create (and personally use) here:
https://www.restartmed.com/shop/
More information, including links to literary studies, in the video and the full blog post, can be found here:
https://www.restartmed.com/goitrogens/
You can find more general information on my site here:
https://www.restartmed.com/
If you enjoyed this video please subscribe on youtube or leave a comment on my podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-westin-childs-podcast-thyroid-weight-loss-hormones/id1141207688?mt=2
This video is not intended to be used as medical advice. If you have questions about your health please consult your physician or primary care provider. Dr. Westin Childs goes to great lengths to produce high-quality content but this is NOT a substitute for medical care.
Do you have any topics or video ideas? Please say so in the comments below!
This is a topic worth discussing because many people who believe they have thyroid cancer probably don't.
The good news is that even though thyroid cancer is fairly common, it has a great survival rate with a 5-year survival rate of around 98%.
So, even if you do have thyroid cancer, it's one of the better types of cancers to have.
An interesting fact about thyroid cancer is that it typically does NOT cause any symptoms. In fact, most people who are diagnosed with thyroid cancer present to their doctor with a normal exam and without any symptoms.
In some cases, however, if your cancer is sufficiently large then it may cause problems to nearby structures in your neck.
Your neck is a tight place which means that if anything grows in that area it may push on or bump into other structures which may result in symptoms.
With that in mind, if your cancer is large enough it may present with the following symptoms:
- Compression of the esophagus or trachea
- Difficulty swallowing -
- Swelling or enlargement of the neck (bulge in the neck)
- Changes to speech including hoarseness
- Enlargement of lymph nodes in the neck
- Symptoms of thyroid goiter
- Pain in the neck, especially around the thyroid gland
- Constant non-productive cough
It's important to note that in the majority of cases thyroid cancer will not cause problems with the production of thyroid hormone (but you should still have it tested to be sure).
Some other conditions may mimic thyroid cancer and you want to watch out for these as well.
They include:
- Thyroid Nodules
- Thyroid Cysts
- Goiter
- Hashimoto's thyroiditis
These can be differentiated from thyroid cancer with an ultrasound test and certain blood markers.
If you suspect that you have thyroid cancer then your next steps should be:
- Complete history and physical exam
- Thyroid function lab tests (if you have symptoms such as fatigue, etc.)
- Thyroid ultrasound
- Biopsy (if necessary)
- Iodine testing
- Other blood tests such as inflammatory markers
These steps will help differentiate between thyroid cancer and the other conditions listed above.
Hey guys!
I'm Dr. Westin Childs and I focus on thyroid health, hormone balance, and weight loss. I write about thyroid disorders, weight loss, insulin resistance, estrogen/progesterone balance on my blog. I truly believe that hormone balance is the key to managing your weight, your mood and your quality of life which is why I'm so passionate about it.
I take a personalized/functional medicine approach to management of conditions. I'm not accepting patients but you can learn more and get plenty of information on my blog!
You can learn more about high-quality supplements that I create (and personally use) here:
https://www.restartmed.com/shop/
More information, including links to literary studies, in the video and the full blog post, can be found here:
https://www.restartmed.com/goitrogens/
You can find more general information on my site here:
https://www.restartmed.com/
If you enjoyed this video please subscribe on youtube or leave a comment on my podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-westin-childs-podcast-thyroid-weight-loss-hormones/id1141207688?mt=2
This video is not intended to be used as medical advice. If you have questions about your health please consult your physician or primary care provider. Dr. Westin Childs goes to great lengths to produce high-quality content but this is NOT a substitute for medical care.
Do you have any topics or video ideas? Please say so in the comments below!
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