CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Heading into the last weekend of September, UVA Health is getting out the word about symptoms and treatments at the end of Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month. Dr. Nicole Fowler, the head of UVA Health head and neck surgical oncology, described the thyroid as a butterfly-shaped organ low in the front of the neck that releases a hormone which regulates metabolism.
“You know, you think energy, but it also has to do with hair growth, with your skin, with your heart rate, with your sleep, with your bowel function, maybe your menstrual cycle as a woman. So you name it, it has a function that is affected by your thyroid.”
Dr. Fowler said in a Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month briefing that a person who might feel a nodule in the front of their neck should have it checked out.
There are two main causes, Dr. Fowler said. Someone who’s had radiation, especially around the neck area, to treat other cancers can develop thyroid cancer. But it’s also genetic, so doctors want to know if you have any first-degree relatives who’ve had it.
“That’s a mom, a dad, or a sibling who’s had thyroid cancer,” she said. “We also want to know about other relatives, so don’t forget about those grandparents, aunts, and uncles and cousins. You have first-degree relatives who’ve had it. If you have multiple relatives with thyroid cancer, that’s really important, and you definitely want to seek medical attention for that.”
Dr. Fowler says there are a number of ways to treat it, depending on the stage ranging from radioactive iodine therapy to removing the organ. She says prevention is fairly easy for the average American.
“If you actually looked at how many of them are cancerous, that’s going to be 5-15%,” she said. “Now, when you come in and get an ultrasound done, we’re able to give you much better data than just generalized numbers.”
