Understanding Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer

What Is Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer?

The anaplastic thyroid cancer is a very rare and very deadly form of thyroid cancer. It is estimated that less than a tenth of all patients suffering from this disease resist more than 3 years after diagnosis. What makes anaplastic thyroid cancer so dangerous is its sheer aggressiveness. This sort of tumor will quickly expand and affect other organs. Typically it will be detected as a mass in the neck region below Adam’s apple, which increases over time. Typically this rare form of cancer is met at elder people and is quite often accompanied by other illnesses. Other symptoms include coughing, difficulty in swallowing and difficulty in breathing and talking. To avoid suffocation it is not uncommon that the patient receives a tracheotomy, am operation which bypasses the normal respiratory tract and allows breathing.

Is Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Curable?

In theory anaplastic thyroid cancer can be cured only in the very early stages through surgery. Most of the times though, the tumor will affect nearby trachea (breathing tube) and other vital organs. In such an instance the anaplastic thyroid cancer becomes inoperable. Chemotherapy can be used, but so far almost all medication options have proven rather ineffective. If surgery is an option, the survival rate greatly increases. No matter in what stage the tumor is, the best course of action is to act as fast as possible. The disease itself can be easily recognized due to its unique effects. What would increase the overall survival rate would be the early detection. It is still not clear what causes this disease, but it has been proven that continuous exposure to radiation increases the risk and it is also obvious that the risk increases with age as anaplastic thyroid cancer is extremely rare at people below fifty.

The Morbid Record Of Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer

As it stands today a person with anaplastic thyroid cancer will most likely die in a matter of months after being diagnosed. Four out of five people do not live a year after the disease is discovered. Anaplastic thyroid cancer is quite literally one of the deadliest forms of cancer in existence. Despite this morbid record, there is still hope. There are survivors and their number is on the rise. It is important to understand that anaplastic thyroid cancer rarely kills alone. It is often the complications that add the extra weight. As medical science advances we will probably see an increase in the survival rate. What matters is hope and action. If you have anaplastic thyroid cancer and you act you have a chance, if you don’t act, you don’t have a chance at all. Positive thinking and swift acting might make the difference and put you in that ten percent that lives to tell the story. If you have a relative or a friend affected by this gruesome disease, do your best to help them understand this. The chances are slim but they do exist.

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