Does having Thyroid cancer increase risks of other cancers?

[glocklt4]

I am scheduled to have my thyroid removed May 12th, and won't know for sure if it is malignant or not until then.  I wondering if there is an increased risk of developing other cancers later in life if any malignancy is actually found in the thyroid.

Thanks!

[ChitChatNine]

I ws told no when I asked the same ? .. however the good part about a Cancer diagnosis (which I hope you never have to face) is that ev. doctor you see from now on will never dismiss anything you list as a complaint or have a ? about.

Thy ca can, but uncommonly, metastisize elsewhere but not often as usually it is caught very fast as it is slow growing but to ans your   ?  .. thy ca can go to other areas, yes, but it doesn't I do not think put you in an overall higher risk factor

That said, though, I have Melanoma diagnosis 6 mos after my thy cancer surgery .. early, stage I and gone .. but I blame it on the physical and emotional stress that caused a mole to change rapidly .. just my own theory on that one.

WELCOME to the COMMUNITY!

Cheryl

[whittie918]

My husband watched a program about cancer and the possibility of getting a secondary cancer.  Once your cancer sends its protines out into the bloodstream, that actually surpresses other kinds.  It wants to be the dominate cancer.  I dont know the details or the researcher even but lots of folks disagree with him is what my husband said.  If I put my mind to it though, most the folks I know who had one sort of cancer or another, dont get a second kind.  Its usually that same kind that comes back to haunt them.  There are exceptions to the rule of course.

That said, my nuclear oncologist said that the RAI has a slight chance of causing a secondary cancer.

[glocklt4]

Thanks for the comments.  

I heard Dr. Merrafuzzi (forget spelling) speak in Dallas over the weekend.  He is known world wide as one of the top thyroid cancer doctors and researchers.  He had a presentation on this and said that RAI incrases stomach and lukemia cancers from .4% to the 2-3 % ranges.  So yes, RAI is not the best thing for you, but have to balance that between having cancer still, or an increased risk of cancer in the future.