Thyroid Cancer & Thyroid Surgery in Laredo, TX

Your thyroid is a small gland inside your neck towards the lower front. It’s responsible for a number of bodily functions, including regulating your metabolism and releasing hormones. As with other forms of cancer, thyroid cancer occurs when cells in your thyroid mutate and develop rapidly into a tumor. 

There are four kinds of thyroid cancer:

Papillary: Up to 80 percent of all thyroid cases receive this diagnosis. Though this form is slower to spread, it tends to move into lymph nodes in your neck. There is a high chance of full recovery with this type of thyroid cancer. 

Follicular: Roughly 10-15 percent of thyroid cancer cases in the US fall into this category. Lymph nodes and blood vessels are the other most likely areas to be affected. 

Medullary: This type is categorized by the presence of calcitonin, a byproduct hormone produced by the thyroid when affected by this type of cancer. It is one of the more uncommon cases, as only 4 percent of all thyroid cancer cases fit this description. 

Anaplastic: The rarest and most difficult to treat, anaplastic thyroid cancer is very aggressive and metastasizes to other body areas.