Thyroid Cancer - Video (Doctor and Patient Interview)

M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Date: February 2008
Duration: 0 / 03:32

Narrator:

M. D. Anderson is Making Cancer History. I'm Roseann Rogers, and the physicians at M. D. Anderson are pioneering innovative approaches to diagnosing and treating endocrine cancers.

Dr. Perrier:

Thyroid cancer, the incidence is somewhere around 35,000 cases a year are diagnosed. The disease is more common in women than men. Young women should routinely have thyroid observed and evaluated and inspected for thyroid cancer.

Narrator:

The symptoms to look out for included nodule or bump in the center of the neck.

Dr. Perrier:

Other symptoms might be difficulty swallowing, if the lesion is indeed pushing on the esophagus posteriorly. Another symptom might be a change in voice. The voice nerve is actually the nerve that lives right behind the thyroid gland and if a tumor is invading or pushing on that nerve the patient might recognize some hoarseness.

Narrator:

You should also be aware of any family history of thyroid disease.

Dr. Perrier:

There is a familiar component to thyroid cancer particularly for one of the subtypes. There are four types of thyroid cancer that by far the most common is papillary, which thankfully is the type with the best prognosis.

Narrator:

During an annual visit Ana Shick’s OB-Gyn discovered a lump on her neck.

Ana Schick:

I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer on my first, which I really have not heard of, had no familiarity with, no history in my family. I considered going somewhere else and had some recommendations, but just thought they have M. D. Anderson in our backyard. We have a world class institution right here -- people who do this everyday.

Narrator:

For treatment, Ana knew she was in good hands at the Endocrine Center at M. D. Anderson.

Dr. Perrier:

The beauty of the Center is that indeed we have found a way that is unique across the country that to evaluate patients efficiently.

Ana Schick:

I found out in May and met with Dr. Perrier in May. She got me in, got me treated, got me scheduled for surgery and just -- I felt very confident and under her care.

Narrator:

Since endocrine cancer is rare, patients benefit from multiple specialists at the Center.

Dr. Perrier:

Endocrine tumors in general are not common tumors. And most patients who have them, but they have the rarer types, their surgeons or their primary care providers may only see one or two a year. The beauty of concentrating care to place like M. D. Anderson is we see hundreds a year. We do three-, four-, five hundred operations a year on these patients. Our team approach becomes very good. Our nurses, our data coordinators, our researchers, our clinicians, day-in and day-out deal with the same type of unusual tumors. So, they are unusual to our patients, but they become very usual and ordinary to us.

Narrator:

Patients also benefit from one of the largest clinical trial programs in the country.

Dr. Perrier:

We have 10 clinical trials. They are led by our Endocrinologists that involve tumors that are -- that have metastasized to other parts of the body, treatment options and drugs to eradicate the spread of those tumor cells, tumors that have become resistant to the radioactive iodine, which is a treatment that we use in the adjuvant setting.

Narrator:

And that means patients like Ana receives the best possible care and innovative cancer treatments.

Ana Schick:

I'm now M.D. Anderson's biggest fan. I mean, I came here and felt sad and fortunate and amazed all at the same time.