Thyroid cancer treatment requires a team effort. We bring together experts in oncology, surgery, radiation medicine, pathology and other areas.
At Markey, your expert care team works together to develop and deliver an effective treatment plan. Our team specializes in thyroid cancer treatment, not just any cancer. And we step in to treat complex cases that other centers can’t always handle.
Surgery is the primary recommended treatment for most thyroid cancer. Types of surgery we use include:
- Thyroidectomy: The most common surgery for thyroid cancer includes the complete removal of the thyroid gland through a small incision in the front of the neck. You will need to take thyroid hormone pills daily after this surgery to replace hormones produced by the thyroid gland.
- Lobectomy: We remove part of the thyroid through a small incision in the front of the neck. Because some of the thyroid gland is left behind, you may not need hormone therapy. However, it can be hard to detect recurring cancer with radioiodine scans.
- Lymphadenectomy: Thyroid cancer often spreads to the lymph nodes. We can remove the lymph nodes in your neck using an incision on the front or side of the neck. If we know your lymph nodes need to be removed, we can remove them when we perform a thyroidectomy or lobectomy.
Surgery recovery
Most people go home the day of their surgery or the next day. You will likely have some pain or discomfort for several days. Some people compare it to a bad case of strep throat. Your care team will recommend medication to control your pain and ask you to rest for several days as you recover.
Because your thyroid absorbs most of the iodine in your body, radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy can be useful in treating thyroid cancer, especially papillary or follicular thyroid cancers that have spread. The RAI collects on thyroid cells that take up iodine, where it kills cancerous cells and destroys most of the thyroid. Because of the high levels of radiation, your body may give off radiation for a short time after this therapy. Some patients may need to stay in the hospital for a couple of days following treatment.
This treatment kills cancer cells with high-energy rays through a targeted beam of radiation. External beam radiation is most used for medullary and anaplastic thyroid cancers that spread to other parts of the body. Learn more about our services by visiting our Radiation Oncology website.
Advanced thyroid cancer that has spread to other parts of the body is challenging to treat. This cancer often requires innovative, targeted therapies. Markey’s Precision Medicine Clinic offers specialized treatments specifically designed to combat advanced thyroid cancer.
Our medical oncologists have extensive expertise treating advanced thyroid cancer. Targeted therapies we use include tyrosine kinase inhibitors for patients with specific genetic mutations like BRAF. Targeted therapies help us manage cancer that’s spread to the lungs or other organs. This helps us improve outcomes for patients with advanced thyroid cancer.
Chemotherapy drugs, given through injection or with oral pills, enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body. While chemotherapy is usually not the best form of treatment for most thyroid cancers, it is sometimes used in combination with radiation therapy, especially for more advanced cancer.
