Why choose Geisinger for thyroid cancer care?
Here, you’ll have a whole team focused on you. From day one, we‘ll work with you to understand your diagnosis, your health history and what brings you comfort. Then we’ll create a treatment plan tailored to your needs.
That plan may include a combination of surgery, radioactive iodine therapy and in special circumstances radiofrequency ablation, targeted therapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and clinical trials. You may also be eligible for genetic testing and counseling through the MyCode® Community Health Initiative, which guides decisions and assesses risk for you and your family.
No matter where you are in your thyroid cancer journey, you can count on us for support every step of the way.
Treatments and services we offer
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FAQs
What are some common symptoms of thyroid cancer?
Symptoms can include:
- A lump or swelling in the neck
- Pain in the front of your neck that may radiate up to your ears
- Voice changes or hoarseness that doesn’t go away
- Trouble swallowing
- Difficulty breathing
- A persistent cough not due to a cold or other respiratory virus
Many people have no symptoms early on, so be sure to talk to your doctor about any new or changing lumps in your throat or any symptoms of thyroid cancer.
How is thyroid cancer diagnosed?
What are the risk factors for thyroid cancer?
While some risk factors for thyroid cancer are out of your control, there are lifestyle choices that can increase your risk of developing thyroid cancer.
Risk factors for thyroid cancer include:
- Exposure to radiation: Exposure to radiation is a proven risk factor for thyroid cancer.
- Other risk factors: Other factors that can increase the risk of developing thyroid cancer include a diet low in iodine, environmental exposure, age, gender and family history.
How do you treat thyroid cancer?
Thyroid cancer treatment involves a whole team of specialists working together to get you back to health. They’ll partner with you to develop a personalized treatment plan.
Your team will make treatment decisions based on the type, location and stage of your cancer. Treatments may include:
- Surgery: Removing all or part of your thyroid gland, and possibly lymph nodes in your neck, is called a thyroidectomy,
- Radioactive iodine ablation (RAI): After surgery, your doctor may recommend RAI to destroy any remaining thyroid tissue.
- Thyroid hormone therapy: Once your thyroid gland is removed, you’ll need to take thyroid hormones for the rest of your life.
- Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is a treatment given to slow tumor growth and shrink tumors.
- Radiofrequency ablation therapy: A minimally invasive, non-surgical procedure that uses heat from radio waves to shrink thyroid tumors. This therapy is commonly used to treat benign nodules but may be an option in select cases of thyroid cancer.
- Radiation therapy: Radiation oncology uses radiation to control or destroy cancer cells. The types of radiation therapy include:
- External beam radiation
- Internal radiation, also called brachytherapy
- Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
- Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT)
- Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT)
- Clinical trials
- Targeted therapy: Using medications that attack specific weaknesses in cancer cells to slow or stop their growth.
- Supportive therapy and rehabilitation
Thyroid cancer care at Geisinger
When you come to Geisinger for thyroid cancer care, you’ll have access to:
- Multidisciplinary expertise: Surgeons and oncologists who build treatment plans just for you.
- Regional leadership and support: From nurse navigators to nutrition counseling and financial coordination, we provide the resources you need.
- Leading-edge clinical trials: Participating in a trial may help even if standard approaches haven’t worked.
- Genetic innovation: Programs like MyCode help detect hidden cancer risk. Sign up for MyCode.
- Lifelong survivorship: Our support continues after treatment to support your health during recovery.