Thyroid Cancer Treatment

Thyroid cancer treatment in Israel with the use of innovative therapies has led to high rates of cured patients.

This cancer develops in the glandular cells of the thyroid gland, which is located at the front of the neck and has the shape of a butterfly.

The thyroid gland produces hormones that can regulate heart rate, blood pressure and has an influence on thermoregulation.

Thyroid cancer is not a common form of cancer, but recently there is a growing percentage of its occurrence.

Thyroid Cancer Symptoms

In the early stages of development, you won’t have any displays. But with the progression of cancer, you may notice the following symptoms:

• Changes in voice, the appearance or hoarseness
• Trouble swallowing
• Pain in the cervical area
• Enlargement of regional lymph nodes in the neck

Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis

Diagnosis of thyroid cancer may include different types of tests;
First of all, the medical specialist will collect a medical history and conduct a physical examination of the patient, with the palpation of the thyroid and neck lymph nodes.
The doctor will appoint blood tests for measuring the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).
Objective data confirming the initial examination in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer are ultrasound findings, suggestive of a cancer site and swollen lymph nodes.
Taking biopsies of the thyroid tissue and examining them under a microscope will also be able to confirm the presence of the disease.
Possible treatment options are directly dependent on the type and stage of the cancer process, the general health and personal preferences of the patient.

Thyroid Cancer Treatment Options

Surgical intervention

The basic method of treatment of thyroid cancer in Israel is surgery; a radical removal (thyroidectomy) or excision of most of the thyroid.

In most cases, during surgery, a small portion of the thyroid tissue around the parathyroid glands is left in order to avoid damage to the parathyroid portion. During surgery, a resection of the cervical lymph nodes is also performed to check for the presence of abnormal cells.

Hormone therapy

The consequences of Thyroidectomy are that patients throughout the rest of their life have to take medications (thyroid hormones) to normalize the hormonal metabolism. The medicine contains thyroxin, the missing hormone, and inhibits the production of TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone). Elevated TSH may contribute to the growth of the remaining carcinogenic cells. Endocrinologists, based on tests conducted on the patient, select postoperative doses for each patient individually.

Radioiodine

Radioactive iodine therapy is often used after thyroidectomy to destroy

the remaining cancerous cells at the diseased sites.
Radioiodine therapy has been applied for the treatment of recurrent disease and is also used in the presence of metastases. It is administered in forms of capsules; it’s absorbed by the thyroid cells as well as by any malignant tumor arising in the body without causing harm to other organs.
The main part of the radioactive iodine is excreted in the urine within the first week after the procedure; during this period, you emit radiation, thus it is forbidden to be around people.

Radiation therapy

Teletherapy ensures the destruction of cancerous tumors by ionizing radiation through high beams precisely aimed at the pathological. External radiotherapy is usually used to treat thyroid cancer recurrence and metastasis to other organs.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses chemicals drugs that destroy cancerous cells. These drugs are usually administered intravenously, with the blood spread throughout the body, killing rapidly growing cells, including cancer cells.
Chemotherapy is not usually used in the treatment of thyroid cancer but is assigned to patients when other standard treatments do not help.

“Herzliya Medical Center” has developed a set of activities that helps to quickly diagnose and plan the treatment of thyroid cancer.