Thyroid cancer can occur in any age group. Women are two to three times more likely than men to develop thyroid cancer. People who have had radiation therapy to the neck are at higher risk. Early thyroid cancer often does not cause symptoms. But as the cancer grows, symptoms may include: hoarseness or difficulty speaking in a normal voice, neck pain, and enlarged lymph nodes, especially in the neck, difficulty swallowing or breathing.

Papillary and follicular thyroid cancers account for 80 to 90 percent of all thyroid cancers.

Thyroid cancer diagnosed after physical exam and laboratory tests: levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in the blood, levels of calcium in the blood. Using ultrasonography doctor can see how many nodules are present, how big they are, and whether they are solid or filled with fluid. A biopsy is the only sure way to know whether a nodule is cancerous. Ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or computed tomography (CT) is used to find out whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or other areas within the neck.

Most thyroid cancers are very curable. Depending on the type and stage the treatment option is made.  Thyroid cancer can be treated with surgery, radioactive iodine, hormone treatment, external radiation, or chemotherapy.  Both papillary and follicular cancers are typically treated by removal of all the lobe of the thyroid which harbors the cancer, and removal of most or all of the other side.

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