My mother has cancer in the throat area that one doctor has said already metasta!
Question:
My mother has cancer in the throat area that one doctor has said already metastasize in both lymp nodes?
he said it's papillary cancer, stage four. he said it is slow growing, but we saw that in a matter of 5 months, it had really grown considerably. the doctor did not advise surgery anymore because of the risk re.: age (she's 73). now my mother is in the US and the doctors there said that it has to be taken out, otherwise it will choke her. she's scheduled fo MRI on the 24th and will then proceed to surgery. ny question is which doctor is correct?
Answers:
Papillary cancer is the most common of the thyroid cancers. So this is what I found: Yes, surgery is the main treatment.
Thyroid cancer Treatment
Date updated: April 04, 2005
Content provided by MayoClinic.com
Surgery is the main treatment for most types of thyroid cancer, but other therapies may vary, depending on the type of thyroid cancer you have.
Papillary and follicular thyroid cancers
The best type of surgery for follicular and papillary thyroid cancers was once a matter of debate. Now most experts agree that the optimal treatment is near-total thyroidectomy - an operation that removes practically the entire thyroid with the exception of small rims of tissue around the parathyroid glands to reduce the risk of parathyroid damage. If you have enlarged lymph nodes as a result of thyroid cancer, your operation may be extended to remove the affected lymph nodes. In some cases, this may mean exploring and removing enlarged lymph nodes on both sides of your neck. Cancer is less likely to return or spread after thyroidectomy than after less complete operations, and in experienced hands, the risks of the surgery are low.
Good luck, had cancer twice, so my blessings go out to you.