JAKARTA - A lump in the neck is often considered trivial. In fact, the lump can be an early sign of thyroid cancer that needs to be watched out for.
The thyroid is a pair of butterfly-shaped glands, located in the front of the neck and attached to the trachea. The gland is useful for producing thyroid hormones, which are responsible for regulating the body's energy metabolism, body temperature, heart performance, digestion, as well as the nervous system and brain.
In normal conditions, the thyroid is generally not visible from the outside. If there is a disorder in the thyroid gland, then a lump or thyroid cancer can appear.
Thyroid cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the thyroid tissue grow uncontrollably and form a malignant tumor. One of the symptoms often found in thyroid cancer patients is a lump in the neck.
"Often patients come with lumps in the neck. It does not mean that every lump in the neck is thyroid, the lymph nodes can also be, fat can also be, but often patients (thyroid cancer) come with the initial symptoms of lumps in the neck," said Specialist Doctor in Surgery Subspecialist in Oncology Surgery at Pondok Indah Hospital, Dr. dr. Diani Kartini, Sp. B, Subsp, Onk. (K), during a media discussion in Menteng, Jakarta, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
In addition to lumps in the neck, symptoms of thyroid cancer also include a permanent change in voice (hoarseness) that indicates malignancy, a feeling of tightness or difficulty swallowing food, and shortness of breath or a cough that does not go away.
If you have experienced one or more of these symptoms, you should immediately perform a self-examination with a surgical oncology subspecialist. The sooner the treatment, the higher the chance of recovery.
"For thyroid cancer, the survival rate is quite long, even up to 20 years the patient can survive, as long as it is recognized from the beginning," he said.
The treatment of thyroid cancer depends very much on the type and size, as well as the general health condition of the patient. Some of the treatment methods include surgery (thyroidectomy), nuclear therapy (RAI), hormone therapy, to radiofrequency ablation (RFA).
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