Mass on the Thyroid - Facts About Thyroid Nodules

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Your thyroid controls a number of important bodily functions. You can think of this - the most important of your endocrine glands - as a master regulator. Located inside your neck simply below your Adam's apple, the thyroid controls the speed at which your body burns energy (calories). It also controls the right functioning of different hormones.

When your thyroid is healthy, it's one of those glands that you will never see, feel or maybe want to suppose about. It simply silently and faithfully will its job, making sure that your body's ability to access and burn energy is buzzing along simply fine.

However, the thyroid will develop a range of problems, a number of that could require the removal of half or all your thyroid.

Common Thyroid Issues
There a number of potential diseases of the thyroid, as well as Hashimoto's disease, Graves' disease, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. All of those involve the thyroid producing an excessive amount of or too little thyroid hormone.

Another common thyroid problem is that of a lump or mass on the gland itself.

Mass on the Thyroid
You will have noticed a visual lump or bump in the neck area on yourself, a loved one or an acquaintance. Or, a medical professional may have discovered such a lump when performing a routine checkup or a CT, MRI or ultrasound scan of the neck. In some cases, this lump could turn out to be a thyroid nodule.

There are 2 main reasons for a lumpy thyroid: a nodule or a thyroid enlargement.

Enlarged thyroids are totally different than nodules in that enlarged thyroids sometimes affect the complete gland, rather than simply having bumps here or there on one or each of the lobes. An enlarged thyroid - also called a goiter - may be a benign (not cancerous) condition typically caused by iodine deficiency. Goiter will also be caused by Hashimoto's disease or Graves' disease (see above). Goiter may not need to be treated, or in some case it is treated with antithyroid drugs, removal of the thyroid, or iodine-131 treatments.

On the opposite handle, thyroid nodules are a lot of specific to 1 or a lot of areas of thyroid, rather than a generalized enlargement.
Facts about Thyroid Nodules
The overwhelming majority - regarding ninety five% - of thyroid nodules are benign, meaning that they're not cancerous. Of course, thyroid nodules rarely require treatment if they're determined to be:
* not cancerous (benign)
* not inflicting any other troubles, like pressing on different structure in the neck or body
* not inflicting the gland to form an excessive amount of thyroid hormone

A straightforward biopsy can be ready to see whether the nodule is benign or cancerous. If the nodule is cancerous or is otherwise causing problems, the physician might select to treat it via hormone pills, radioactive iodine (iodine-131), or direct injections into the gland with ethyl alcohol.

In some cases, thyroid surgery is needed to get rid of the thyroid completely. Also referred to as a thyroidectomy, this kind of treatment has very high success rates, and patients will typically expect a sleek recovery.

Ought to your doctor decide that your thyroid is to be removed via surgery because of a mass or nodule being discovered there, this should not be a cause for concern. By following the correct steps after surgery, you can expect a full recovery and, with the help of thyroid supplements, not even notice the absence of this very important gland.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

William Evan has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Thyroid, you can also check out his latest website about: Engraved Wedding Rings Which reviews and lists the best Discount Wedding Rings

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