Thyroid Cancer Patient: One Year Without Surgery, Fears Metastasis as Symptoms Return

An Giang resident Thuy Linh, a 35-year-old thyroid cancer patient, has been dealing with the disease for a year without undergoing surgery. Instead, she opted for traditional medicine. Recently, she experienced symptoms such as a sore throat and difficulty swallowing. She is now concerned about the possibility of metastatic disease.

The thyroid gland plays a critical role in hormone production that supports metabolism, blood pressure regulation, and other bodily functions. If left untreated or treated improperly, thyroid cancer cells can spread beyond the gland to invade surrounding muscles, esophagus, trachea, larynx, blood vessels in the neck, and can metastasize to lymph nodes and distant areas like bones, brain, liver, and lungs.

Metastatic thyroid cancer presents with different symptoms depending on the location of spread. Bone metastases may result in brittle bones, spinal cord compression, bone pain, and bone loss while lung metastases can cause dry coughing, breathing difficulties and coughing up blood. Liver metastases may manifest as abdominal pain