One type of cancer is on the rise. It is three times more common in women than men, but there is a way to detect it.
Suzie Battle is a thyroid cancer survivor. The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped spongy gland. After Battle was diagnosed four years ago, she started hearing about others with the same cancer. "I had a boss in my old job who also had it and then I had a friend who also had it," Battle said. "It seems odd that so many people are getting thyroid cancer these days."
Just last month, Battle's younger sister was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. But according to Dr. Brian Kim, an endocrinologist with the University of Miami Health System, the most common type of thyroid cancer is not considered hereditary. "These cases then make us wonder," Dr. Kim said. "I have certainly also met families where I've had three sisters who had thyroid cancer, and you always wonder in that kind of case could there be a gene that's involved?"
Dr. Kim points out that family history is a risk factor for thyroid cancer. So is radiation exposure, as is being female. In fact, it's three times more common in women than in men. "We're actually finding it more, we're treating it more," said Dr. Kim. "Economically and for the patients involved it's a very big deal."
A woman's immune system and hormones may play a role. Researchers at the thyroid labs at the UM Miller School of Medicine are studying the gland's role in metabolism. While only 5 percent of thyroid nodules or lumps are cancerous and most people don't know they have them, there are some possible warning signs. "If you feel a lump in your neck, if you have trouble swallowing, voice changes for no apparent reason, that would be a reason to talk to your doctor," Dr. Kim said.
As for Suzie Battle, her lump was detected by a nurse practitioner during a routine exam. "She checked my neck and realized there was something different between last year and this year," Battle said. "She saved me."
The good news is that thyroid cancer is survivable. According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for all thyroid cancer patients is 97 percent.
Do you know anyone who has been affected by thyroid cancer? Were they able to detect it early? Should women be more concerned? Leave your thoughts below.
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Information courtesy of NBC News.
