What Increases Your Risk

A risk factor for thyroid cancer is something that increases your chance of getting this cancer. Having one or more of these risk factors can make it more likely that you will get thyroid cancer. But it doesn't mean that you will definitely get it. And many people who get thyroid cancer don't have any of these risk factors.

The most common risk factors for thyroid cancer include:

• Age.
• Being female.
• Exposure to high levels of radiation, such as after a nuclear power accident.
• A personal or family history of thyroid disease or thyroid cancer.
• A family history of conditions such as MEN (multiple endocrine neoplasia) 2a, MEN 2b, or FMTC (familial medullary thyroid carcinoma).
• Being Asian.
• A history of radiation treatments to the head, neck, or chest during childhood.
• Other inherited medical conditions, such as Gardner's syndrome and familial polyposis.

When To Call a Doctor

Call your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms:

• A lump or swelling in your neck. This is the most common symptom of thyroid cancer.
• Pain in your neck and sometimes in your ears that doesn't go away and is not caused by a cold or allergies
• Hoarseness that is not related to a cold
• Difficulty swallowing
• Difficulty breathing or constant wheezing
• A cough that continues and is not related to a cold
• Bone pain

Who to see

Health professionals who can evaluate your symptoms and help determine your risk for thyroid cancer include:

• Endocrinologists.
• Family medicine physicians.
• General practitioners.
• Internists.
• Nurse practitioners.
• Physician assistants.

Thyroid cancer is usually treated by endocrinologists, nuclear medicine specialists, surgeons, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists.

To prepare for your appointment, see the topic Making the Most of Your Appointment.