There are several different types of thyroid cancer, which are classified based on how similar they look to normal thyroid cells under a microscope and by the type of cell from which they develop.
Papillary carcinoma is the most common type of thyroid cancer, accounting for approximately 80 percent of cases. This type of cancer generally is treatable with a good prognosis.
Surgery is the main treatment in nearly every case of thyroid cancer which divides into two different types:
Total Thyroidectomy
A total thyroidectomy is a procedure that removes your entire thyroid gland. Total thyroidectomies are more common than their partial counterparts. That’s because total thyroidectomies provide a greater guarantee of removing the entire papillary thyroid cancer. A small amount of thyroid tissue near the recurrent laryngeal nerve (the nerve that is important for the voice) may be left behind.
Because the thyroid gland is removed, this procedure causes hypothyroidism. Without the thyroid gland, no thyroid hormone is released. To compensate, you’ll need to takethyroid hormone replacement therapy. This will ensure that your body has healthy levels of thyroid hormones.
Partial Thyroidectomy
For patients with small papillary tumors located in only one lobe of the thyroid glandand whose cancer hasn’t spread outside the thyroid, a partial thyroidectomy (also known as a lobectomy) may be enough to remove the cancer.
The thyroid cancers that may be treated with a partial thyroidectomy are smaller than 1 cm and are called microscopic papillary thyroid cancer.
In a partial thyroidectomy, only the cancerous thyroid lobe is removed. Unlike a total thyroidectomy, this procedure won’t result in hypothyroidism. Though one lobe is removed, the remaining lobe can still produce healthy amounts of thyroid hormone. However, depending on the pathology and your thyroid function tests, you might still need to take thyroid hormone medication to suppress the remaining thyroid lobe.
References:
http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid-cancer/surgery-papillary-thyroid-cancer
http://www.cancercenter.com/thyroid-cancer/types/
