Has your child received a thyroid cancer diagnosis? What you need to know
One of the scariest experiences a parent can go through is their child receiving a cancer diagnosis. And although thyroid cancer is typically seen age 25-65, it can affect children as well.
So if your child has just been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a look at the facts and what you can do to feel empowered.
Why does my child have thyroid cancer?
This is often one of the first questions to come to mind. But if it was a simple answer, I’m sure we wouldn’t see thyroid cancer in children ever!
Like many cancers, we don’t always know the direct causes. But there are some factors that increase risk. And sometimes, these factors combine with genetics and luck of the draw.
Some of the known risk factors include:
Genetics/family history
Ethnicity (Asian and Pacific Islander populations have a higher risk)
Sex - females are more commonly diagnosed
Environmental exposures including radiation, smoking (including second-hand), endocrine disruptors and heavy metals
Dietary factors - iodine deficiency, pro-inflammatory diet
What are the symptoms of thyroid cancer in children?
In the early stages of thyroid cancer, there may be a few subtle symptoms or even none at all. However, the signs to watch out for include:
A lump in the neck area – this is typically painless
Goitre (enlarged thyroid gland)
Swollen lymph nodes around the neck area
Changes to their voice and a hoarse quality due to the pressure on the vocal cords
Difficulty swallowing
Fatigue/low energy
In some cases, there may be neck pain
Thyroid cancer can also cause both hyperthyroid and hypothyroid symptoms. Their thyroid hormones may fluctuate as the disease process continues, so blood tests may not accurately reflect what’s going on.
This can make it hard to identify unless your GP knows what to look out for. If you’re at all concerned and your child is presenting with swelling around the thyroid gland, ask for an ultrasound to rule out the presence of tumours.
Diagnosis and treatment
Thyroid cancer is typically diagnosed with a combination of two techniques - ultrasound and fine needle aspiration (FNA). The ultrasound detects the tumour(s), and the FNA aspirates cells from those tumours to see if they are benign or malignant (cancerous).
There may be other diagnosis techniques used for forms that are metastasized such as MRI and PET scans.
Want to learn more about the different forms of thyroid cancer? I’ve covered them in this article.
Treatment depends on the form, stage and spread. The most common treatment options used include:
Radioactive iodine (RAI) - a dose of radioactive iodine is given, which travels to the thyroid cells and destroys them. This is usually in conjunction with a thyroidectomy/removal of the tumours
Thyroidectomy - partial or full
Surgery - if the spread is local, e.g. lymph nodes in the neck, this will be done at the same time as the thyroidectomy. However, if the cancer has spread to other locations, further surgery may be required.
Radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy - this is typically used for cancer that has spread beyond the thyroid, particularly anaplastic cancer.
After treatment, your child will have follow-up visits regularly to ensure the cancer has not returned. This can include ultrasounds, blood tests (thyroglobulin can indicate the return of thyroid tissue) and a full-body scan to detect any thyroid tissue.
What can I do for my child?
It’s horrible to feel like you can’t do anything to help your child when they are unwell. But the good news is that there are steps you can take at home to support them naturally while they undergo the needed medical care.
Focus on quality nutrition
Food is truly fuel for the body. So when your child is fighting a disease, recovering from surgery and undergoing other treatments, nutrition is key.
Whenever possible, you want to add in as much nutrient-dense food as you can. Depending on their symptoms, options such as smoothies may help to get nutrients in when their throat is sore or while they are not particularly hungry.
Find my top nutrition insights for thyroid cancer here.
Optimise lifestyle factors
It’s not just what we eat – lifestyle has a massive impact on thyroid health, including thyroid cancer recovery. You need to look at your child’s stress, sleep, environmental exposures and physical activity.
To learn more about these factors and what the research supports, check out this article.
Continue to support them post-cancer
There’s a great sense of relief when your doctor gives your child the all-clear after treatment. But while it’s good news for you both, you still want to stay on top of their health.
Find my top 3 focus areas for post-cancer care here.
Don’t add supplements without supervision!
This is vital if your child is undergoing medical treatment. You should only add nutritional or herbal supplements when under the supervision of a qualified nutritionist, naturopath or herbalist. And that professional should not be prescribing anything until they have reviewed the medical plan and if needed, consulted with your child’s medical team.
Nutrients and herbs are incredibly powerful tools. But the last thing we want is to add in something that makes their symptoms worse or interferes with their medical treatments.
After treatment, your child will likely be hypothyroid - so you need to understand how to manage that!
If they have hypothyroidism and require medication for life, this is the ebook for you.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
This information is not a substitute for medical advice or personalised support from a healthcare practitioner. I always recommend consulting your healthcare professional before making changes to medications, adding supplements, changing your diet or altering your lifestyle.