Thyroid Disease

What does a diagnosis look like?

Thyroid Nodules

Thyroid nodules are a very prevalent condition and are often asymptomatic and go undiagnosed. Thyroid nodules are primarily divided into solid (goiters) or fluid-filled (cysts). It is not uncommon to have a thyroid nodule and 90% are non-cancerous1.

If left untreated, some thyroid nodules can become symptomatic and require treatment.

Possible Symptoms

Swelling
Difficulty breathing and swallowing
Neck Pain
Hoarse Voice
Coughing
Dizziness
Swelling
Difficulty breathing and swallowing
Neck Pain
Hoarse Voice
Coughing
Dizziness

Approximately 10% of thyroid nodules are malignant. Of this 10%, about 70-80% of are diagnosed as Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma (PTC) and 10-15% are diagnosed as Follicular Thyroid Cancer. These two types of malignancies are treated relatively easily, and have excellent long-term survivability.

The remaining 5-10% of thyroid cancers are more difficult to treat, and have lower survivability, however they are very rare. These two cancers are diagnosed as Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma and Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma.

Thyroid Nodule Diagnosis2

A Primary Care Physician or Specialist may use one or more of the following tests to evaluate thyroid conditions

Thyroid Function Test

The thyroid function test is a blood test to check your thyroid hormone levels. It is the only accurate way to verify hormone levels.

Thyroid Scan

The thyroid scan uses small doses of radioactive chemicals to produce images of the thyroid gland, allowing physicians to assess thyroid function.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound is an imaging test that uses sound waves to create a pictures of organs , tissues, and other structures in the body. Physicians view the thyroid gland through the picture provided.

Palpation

Palpation is a method of examining a patient’s neck to detect thyroid nodules. A physician manually examine the neck to w examine the size, consistency, texture, location, and tenderness of the thyroid gland.

Biopsy

If there is a reason to suspect a thyroid cancer from the other diagnosis results, a biopsy of the nodule will be taken and evaluated by a laboratory to make a determination.

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