What Does Thyroid Cancer Feel Like?

Most people don’t think about their thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland that sits at the front of the throat. It’s part of the endocrine system and produces hormones that regulate functions like blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and body weight. Like other organs in the body, the thyroid can develop cancer.

While thyroid nodules are common—up to 50 percent of people have them, according to the American Thyroid Association—cancerous ones are not. “Thankfully, the vast majority of those nodules are noncancerous, but it's important to surveil them and occasionally biopsy them,” says Gregory Tiesi, M.D.,FACS, FSSO, an endocrine surgeon and medical director of hepatobiliary surgery in the division of Surgical Oncology at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

Early Warning Signs of Thyroid Cancer

For many people, the early signs of thyroid cancer aren’t very obvious. Here are a few symptoms that you might notice:

• Swelling in the neck
• Difficulty swallowing
• Pain in the throat or neck
• A lump or nodule in in the neck
• Persistent cough
• Hoarseness
• Voice changes

Women-specific Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer

Women are three times more likely to develop thyroid cancer than men, according to the American Cancer Society, and certain genetic factors can increase the risk. Women can experience some additional symptoms:

• Hormonal imbalances
• Bleeding between periods or after sex
• Irregular menstrual cycles
• Weight loss and fatigue
• An enlarged thyroid gland (goiter)
• Difficulty breathing

How Thyroid Cancer Is Diagnosed

It’s important to make an appointment with your doctor if you have any of these signs or symptoms. Your doctor may:

• Perform a physical examination
• Conduct a variety of tests including blood tests, ultrasound imaging and a needle biopsy to remove a small sample of tissue from the thyroid
• Order genetic testing and blood tests to check for tumor markers
• Order imaging tests—CT scans, MRIs or nuclear imaging tests like a radioiodine whole-body scan—to determine if the cancer has spread

Treatment Options for Thyroid Cancer

People with thyroid cancer have a range of treatment options available to them, depending on the type, size and stage of the cancer. “The most encouraging thing is that with appropriate treatment, most thyroid cancer can be successfully treated with surgery alone or in combination with other treatments,” says Dr. Tiesi. “In very rare cases, where the cancer is very advanced or an unusual subtype, it can be treated with external beam radiation.”

Wait-and-see approach: In the case of very small papillary tumors—the most common form of thyroid cancer—the doctor may recommend a wait-and-see approach, because these types of tumors have a lower risk of spreading or growing.

Surgery: Your doctor might recommend treating the thyroid cancer with surgery to remove some or all of the thyroid gland, as well as adjacent lymph nodes, if necessary. In this case, patients may need to take replacement thyroid hormone to maintain the correct hormone balance.

Radioactive iodine: Your doctor may also recommend radioactive iodine after surgery to kill any remaining thyroid or cancer cells, but only certain types of thyroid cancer respond to this treatment. 

“In general, most thyroid cancers are spontaneous, meaning they come for unknown reasons,” says Dr. Tiesi. “So if you have any concerns about your thyroid health, be sure to speak to your doctor about your symptoms. Thyroid cancer can be very treatable, so don’t wait.”

Next Steps & Resources:

• Meet our source: Gregory Tiesi, M.D., FACS, FSSO
• To make an appointment with an oncologist near you, call 800-822-8905 or visit our website.
• Find a cancer screening location near you.