Following are the thyroid cancer treatments given:

1. Surgery: Surgery is the main thyroid cancer treatment. Near-total thyroidectomy is a kind of surgery in which the entire thyroid is removed leaving the small rims of parathyroid glands so that the parathyroid is not damaged. If the lymph nodes get enlarged then the affected lymph nodes are also removed during the surgery.

After thyroidectomy it is less likely that the cancer will return or spread. A technique called frozen section is done to examine the affected tissue so that the cancer is diagnosed. This is carried out while the patient is under anesthesia and might take less than ten minutes. If this technique is not available then, the lobe of the thyroid that contains the nodule is removed.

2. Thyroid-Hormone therapy: This therapy is given after any type of thyroid surgery. The benefits of this thyroid cancer treatment are: it supplies the missing hormone that the thyroid would normally produce and suppresses the pituitary.s production of TSH which signals thyroid to produce hormones. High levels of TSH could stimulate remaining cancer cells to grow.

Blood checks have to be done frequently to check the thyroid hormone levels. Too much production of hormones could lead to loss of weight, palpitations, tremors, osteoporosis and frequent bowel movements. Whereas too little of hormone might cause gain in weight, sensitivity to cold, and dryness of hair and skin.

3. Radioactive iodine (radioiodine) follow-up screening and therapy: This thyroid cancer treatment is given after surgery. It is given in small doses for a follow-up test called a thyroid scan. A radioactive isotope is injected into the vein on the inside of the patient.s elbow. Then the patient has to lie on the table and a special image is taken by the camera on a computer screen. A thyroid scan also detects the cancer cells that have spread in the neck or other parts of the body and cannot be identified during surgery.

A moderate dose of radioiodine is given if any normal tissues remain. Larger doses are given to destroy the cancerous cells if they have spread beyond the thyroid gland. Normal thyroid tissue is first removed as it absorbs more iodine than cancer cells and might make the treatment less effective.

Before a patient goes for a radioiodine therapy the blood levels should be high with TSH so that the cancer cells take the radioactive iodine. A synthetic version of a hormone is recommended to elevate blood levels of TSH.

Radioactive iodine therapy is given for 6 weeks after surgery. The side effects after this treatment might include sore throat, nausea and vomiting followed by dryness of mouth and pain in the cheeks and neck. Pregnant and breast-feeding women are asked to avoid radioactive iodine therapy because iodine 131 could affect the thyroid gland of the developing fetus or an infant.

4. External beam radiation: In this thyroid cancer treatment radioactivity is used to destroy the cancer cells. The rays come from a source outside the patient.s body i.e. high energy X-ray machine called as linear accelerator. The cancer cells are given high dose of radiation for few minutes at a time. The cancer cells are destroyed by this procedure and there is less damage to the healthy tissue. A person might feel quite tired after a particular course of the treatment. The skin might turn red and tender in the area which is treated. A person might feel hoarse and have difficulty in swallowing.

5. Chemotherapy: Treatment of Thyroid cancer by chemotherapy is used to treat medullary thyroid cancer as it is unresponsive to radioiodine therapy. Chemotherapy involves use of drugs to treat the cancer if it has spread to the other parts of the body. If a person with medullary thyroid cancer doesn.t respond to chemotherapy then a combination of cancer drugs are given to shrink the tumor or to slow down their growth.

The treatment by chemotherapy is also used for anaplastic thyroid cancer. This is the fastest growing and the most aggressive type of thyroid cancer which can be treated by chemotherapy or radiation and shrink the tumor.