You may find that your doctor isn't willing to test your thyroid. Unfortunately, for some of you, getting a doctor who will test, diagnose, and properly treat your thyroid condition may not be as smooth a process as you'd hope, for a number of reasons.

For some of you, just recognizing the symptoms of a thyroid problem will trigger a visit to the doctor, conventional tests will reveal your thyroid problem, the doctor will give you a prescription, and you'll be on your way to feeling better and normalizing your metabolism and weight. Regular checkups and scans by their physicians are in order. However, survivors need to be vigilant in case of a reoccurrence. Overall, the prognosis for thyroid cancer is quite good. In treating cancer of the thyroid, the thyroid hormone replacement can be used to deactivate any remaining thyroid tissue in the body. Hormone therapy uses thyroid hormone replacement drugs to stop cancer cells from growing. Because the thyroid takes up iodine, the radioactive iodine collects in any thyroid tissue remaining in the body and kills the cancer cells. Lymph node dissection removes lymph nodes in the neck that contain cancer. Total thyroidectomy removes the entire thyroid. Near-total thyroidectomy removes all of the thyroid except for a small part.

Lymph nodes in the area may be taken out (biopsied) to see if they contain cancer. A doctor may remove the cancer using one of the following operations: Lobectomy removes only the side of the thyroid where the cancer is found. They must then take thyroid replacement hormone, but their medication must keep their TSH levels low - nearly undetectable, actually - to help prevent a relapse of cancer. Some HMO doctors face restrictions or financial disincentives to order laboratory tests. Or your doctor may be afraid that you want thyroid drugs as weight-loss aids. Sometimes it's because the test was your idea, which can threaten a doctor's ego or sense of control. Most, however, have surgery to remove part or all of the thyroid gland, rendering them hypothyroid for the rest of their lives. Under normal circumstances, patients with thyroid cancer have numerous treatments at their disposal, such as radiation, chemotherapy, and radioactive iodine treatment.