Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine cancer.  The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 30, 180 new cases of thyroid cancer in the U.S. in 2006. Thyroid cancer occurs more often in people between the ages of 25 and 65 years and is more common in women than men. 

The thyroid gland is located at the base of the throat.  Thyroid cancer is a tumor or cancerous growth within the thyroid gland.  There are several types of thyroid cancer including papillary, follicular, medullary, anaplastic and variants.  Papillary and follicular thyroid carcinomas account for up to 80% of all thyroid cancers.

Symptoms
The most common symptom of thyroid cancer is a lump in the neck.  Occasionally, symptoms such as hoarseness, neck pain, difficulty swallowing and enlarged lymph nodes can occur.  If a person is experiencing symptoms, a doctor should be consulted.

Diagnosis and Treatment
If there are symptoms, the doctor will feel the patient's neck for lumps.  The doctor may order blood tests and special scans to check the thyroid gland.  The doctor may also want to remove a small amount of tissue from the thyroid gland for a biopsy.  One way to do this is by performing a FNA or Fine Needle Aspiration.  FNA of the thyroid is a safe and effective way to distinguish in many cases, if a nodule is cancerous.  A needle is placed into the nodule several times and cells are aspirated into a syringe.  At which point, a pathologist can look at these cells under a microscope.
 
Treatment of thyroid cancer depends on the type and stage of the cancer as well as the patient's overall health.  Treatments for thyroid cancer include surgery, radioactive iodine treatment, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. 

• Surgery is the most common treatment for thyroid cancer.  Your doctor may remove the cancer by performing a total thyroidectomy (remove the entire thyroid) or lobectomy (remove only one side of the thyroid where cancer is found).  Your doctor may also perform a lymph node dissection in which lymph nodes are removed and examined under a microscope to determine if cancer is present.
  
• Because thyroid cells take up iodine, radioactive iodine collects in any thyroid tissue remaining in the body and usually kills the cancer cells.
  
• Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill the cancer cells.
  
• Chemotherapy uses anti-cancer drugs to kill the cancer and can kill cancer outside of the neck.