Thyroid Cancer Awareness For The Month of September

Sept. 1, 2012 - PRLog -- The National Cancer Institute’s definition of thyroid cancer is:  Cancer that forms in the thyroid gland (an organ at the base of the throat that makes hormones that help control heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and weight). Four main types of thyroid cancer are papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic thyroid cancer. The four types are based on how the cancer cells look under a microscope. 
Factors that are taken into consideration to make a prognosis are age, if the cancer has spread out of the thyroid gland to surrounding lymph nodes or other areas, the size of the tumor, the number of tumors and the gender of the patient.
Papillary thyroid cancer is the most common and has a slightly better prognosis.  Women are diagnosed with thyroid cancer more often than men at a ratio of about 3 to 1.


According to the American Cancer Society the chance of being diagnosed with thyroid cancer has risen in recent years and is now more than twice what it was in 1990.  The Society’s good news though is the death rate of thyroid cancer has been fairly stable for many years, and remains very low compared with most other cancers.
The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for thyroid cancer in the United States are:
About 56,460 new cases of thyroid cancer (43,210 in women, and 13,250 in men)
About 1,780 deaths from thyroid cancer (1,000 women and 780 men)
These numbers may be increasing because of the better technology and diagnostic procedures.  

There is no real know cause for thyroid cancer other than the if you had exposure to radiation as a child.  Therefore, what can you do for yourself in regards to this type of cancer?  As in most disease and cancers the first step to staying as healthy as possible is to live a clean life.  Eating a healthy balanced diet, exercise, plenty of rest, managing stress and staying away from the usage of chemicals and pesticides may not prevent you from developing thyroid cancer but will give you a good fighting chance if it occurs.
At www.papillarythyroidcancerguide.com you will find a “neck check guide”.  This is an important step in early detection of this cancer.  Along with the regular checks, you have to make sure to have annual checkups and have your doctor do a complete check of your neck area and blood work checking the thyroid gland’s hormone levels.