4 Signs Of Thyroid Cancer You Should Watch Out For


You get regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer and see a dermatologist to make sure you don’t have skin cancer, but is thyroid cancer even on your radar? Maybe it should be: Rates seem to be skyrocketing, as the number of people diagnosed with it has doubled since the 1970s. Women, in particular, seem to be at risk. (Here’s a rundown of the 9 most important medical tests for women.)

While that sounds scary, there’s no reason to panic, says Ilya Likhterov, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. “While it’s true that thyroid cancer diagnoses are on the rise, we’re usually talking about papillary thyroid cancer, which is the least aggressive type.” He also explains that a rise in diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean that more people are getting it—just that doctors are doing a better job of catching it. Many people today have ultrasounds and other scans for totally unrelated health issues, and those tests sometimes end up picking up very small thyroid nodules. Even if they turn out to be cancerous, many of these are so tiny and slow-growing that they might not ever cause problems during your lifetime.

That said, not all thyroid cancers are so innocuous, so it’s smart to see a doctor if you notice any of the following symptoms: