Rare Disease In America: What Is Thyroid Cancer? (Research Paper Sample)

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Topic: THYROID CANCER
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Introduction
Cancer has been one of the most deadly diseases of all time in the history of mankind. Not only has it robbed people's friends and loved ones, it has also robbed the countries of the world some of the most productive people and game changers that have and could have impacted the world in a positive way. Cancer is a disease that has robbed us as people, freedom of what we eat, drink, wear and also activities that we should engage in. it has denied us the freedom of doing what we want because nowadays, it seems majority of what is being used in everyday life contains some cancer causing agents, don't expose yourself too much to the sun, the ultra violet radiations cause cancer, don't eat this type of food, it has chemicals that trigger cancer, and as Milton writes, “such actions coupled with genetic inheritance and lifestyle choices being touted as major causes of Cancer” (Milton, Page 83). Cancer is just an animal, wiping away people at very young ages, making life more difficult due to expensive medical bills and treatments. This in turn causes psychological pain and trauma to the affected and their families because the pain is just too much to handle. It’s a parasite, eating away the human immunity system slowly by slowly until they die.
Statistics show, for instance in the year twenty twelve, eight point two million people died of cancer. In addition to that, about four million people are diagnosed with cancer each year. This is a number approximately equal to the population of a small country say the Vatican being wiped out in a span of three hundred and sixty five days. The leading cancer cases are mostly lung cancer, due to smoking, followed by liver and colorectal then lastly breast cancer. Other than those common cases, thyroid cancer comes into the picture wreaking havoc just like the others even though it’s a relatively new type of cancer. In this paper, questions about the disease, the causes, effects and remedies will be discussed just to get a better understanding of what it is all about.
Thesis statement: Thyroid cancer is a very rare disease in America, however the rate at which people are being diagnosed with thyroid cancer is growing hence there is cause for alarm in the medical field. Thanks to technological advancements, thyroid cancer cases that were not being detected back then are beginning to be discovered by doctors now, meaning that there is hope for this generation.
What is Thyroid cancer?
This is a type of cancer that develops in the thyroid cells in the thyroid gland. His begs the question what is the thyroid gland? The thyroid gland is a gland located at the front side of the neck, specifically at the bottom of the Adam’s apple. It is a negligible part of the body because in most cases or people, this gland can’t be felt, neither can it be seen. The thyroid has two projections, the left projection and the right projection, that is put together by a narrow tissue called the isthmus. Freedman writes that “the primary function of the thyroid gland is to secrete some of the hormones that are responsible in the regulation of the heart rate, temperature regulation, body weight regulation and blood pressure regulation” (Freedman, Pg 6).
The thyroid works in the following mechanism; there are two primary thyroid cells that make the thyroid functional. One of the cells that take the iodine from the foods we eat and use it to manufacture hormones for the thyroids, which are responsible for metabolic regulation of the human body. These cells are called follicular cells. Excessive secretion of this hormone brings about fast heart rates, insomnia, feeling nervous, abnormal hunger pangs and higher body temperature than usual. On the other hand a little of the thyroid hormones cause a slowing in the metabolic rate, weight gain and exhaustion, “the thyroid hormone production is also controlled by a gland called pituitary which is located at the bottom of the brain. These cells are called the follicular cells” (Rosenthal, Pg 32).
The gland produces the thyroid stimulating hormone that is responsible for the regulation of the thyroid hormone. The second cell found in the thyroid gland is the C cells. The C cell is responsible for the production of another hormone that assists in the regulation of how calcium is used in the body. This hormone is called calcitonin.
Statistics
Thyroid cancer mostly affects people who are aged thirty and above and also those over sixty years old. Between the two genders, women have the higher chances at the rate of about 3 to one. In nine out of ten people living with papillary carcinoma, there is a lifespan of five years after discovery, eight out of ten with follicular carcinoma too have a lifespan of five years and also sit to seven out of ten with medullary carcinoma also live for five years after the disease is discovered. After treatment as noted in the book Thyroid Cancer, “the cancer might recur in another place in the body for instance the lungs and the bones, but this is often treatable when detected earlier” (Freedman, Pg 39).
Children on the other hand also have a high risk of obtaining thyroid cancer especially those that live near factories that deal with nuclear weapons and energy. Accidents that occur in these plants increase the risk of the children to acquire thyroid cancer. For instance, an incident in nineteen eighty six where thyroid cancer affected lots of children after a fateful accident. Many of them were exposed to radioactive emissions hence the reports got higher during that time. Those children who incorporated high amounts of iodine in their meals are the ones who had reduced risks of thyroid cancer. For the various cases of thyroid cancer, the survival rates are different with “survival rates of 96 and 93% for patients with papillary carcinoma, 91 and 85% for follicular, 91 and 76% for Hürthle cell, 80 and 75% for medullary and 14% for undifferentiated/anaplastic carcinoma” (Biersack, H. J, and F Grünwald Pg 9).
Causes of thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer occurs when there is an abnormal growth of the thyroid cells usually caused by an alteration in the DNA in the thyroid cells, hence producing the lump. These changes causes the cells to mutate that are causing the cells not to die after their lifespan is over, and continued accumulation of the thyroid cells bring up an inflammation called a tumor. These cells then attack tissues near the thyroids and spread to other parts of the body.
We might not really conclude that the cause might be as a result of faulty DNA strands form the father or the mother of the child because some of the cancer patients diagnosed with this disease don't have a family record of cancer, though we cannot rule out the fact that it is a risk if there are people with genetic disorders such as familial medullary cancer of the thyroid. The risks of acquiring thyroid cancer are real and some of them include, the females, who as earlier mentioned have a higher risk of getting thyroid cancer than men, their likelihood of getting thyroid cancer spans between the age of forty and fifty while men get at the age of around sixty or seventy.
There is also the exposition of children or any other person to radiation, especially those that undergo radiotherapy after accidents or in factories that deal with nuclear energy or the testing of weapons. “Those undergoing radiotherapy in the head or the neck face the greatest threat due to the location of the thyroid gland” (Milton, pg 57).
Types of thyroid cancer:
There are five types of thyroid cancer which include:
Papillary Thyroid Cancer. This type of cancer is caused by the infection of the cells from the follicles which are responsible for the storage and production of the hormones of the thyroids. “This is a common type of thyroid cancer and it is called the Papillary thyroid cancer. This form of cancer affects people of all ages, but mostly affects persons who are from thirty to fifty years old” (Biersack and Grünwald Pg 11).
There is a more intense kind of thyroid cancer called the follicular thyroid cancer that also comes from the follicle cells in the thyroid gland. Mostly affects people who are over fifty years, though rare, it’s considered a deadly type of cancer
Thyroid cancer that occurs in the C cells which are responsible for the production of calcitonin which aids in the regulation of the use of calcium in the body, this form of cancer is called the medullary thyroid cancer. The high production of the hormone calcitonin is a major indicator of this type of cancer. It is said to be genetic, but this has been discovered in very few cases.
There is also another uncommon but deadly form of thyroid cancer called Anaplastic thyroid cancer and it mostly affects the people over sixty years old.
The last type of cancer that mostly occurs in some adults is called Thyroid lymphoma that originates from the cells that are at work in the immune system of the thyroid and spreads rapidly in other parts of the body.
Signs and symptoms of thyroid cancer:
The symptoms of thyroid cancer don't usually appear earlier but one can observe noticeable signs when the cancer begins to develop such as:
The occurrence of a lump that is usually visible and can be felt in the skin. This lump grows bigger at a fast rate. Remember the thyroid lobes are very indistinct as one can almost not feel them when one touches the neck muscles. According to Freedman, “there is a visible adjustment in one’s voice as it becomes husky and hoarse and the hoarseness stays for a very long time. One can also experience a lot of hardship in the s...