Thyroid cancer has been the most common type of cancer in South Korea in recent years. The number of young patients aged 20 to 40 diagnosed with thyroid cancer is steadily increasing. This may be due to the fact that younger individuals often do not prioritize regular ultrasound screenings, leading to early-stage tumors being overlooked and eventually developing into cancer. This is also why thyroid cancer screening should be included in the national cancer screening program in South Korea.
If ultrasounds are not performed on patients without symptoms, the condition may go unnoticed and lead to lung metastasis. Although thyroid cancer progresses slowly and has a good prognosis, it is often underestimated compared to other cancers. However, it is still cancer and must be taken very seriously. Particularly, thyroid cancer has a recurrence rate of 5% within five years after surgery and 10% within ten years. This is why thyroid cancer patients must manage their health diligently for the rest of their lives.
Normally, thyroid testing is done during a rectal exam, but we should still have a regular ultrasound every 2-3 years and if someone in the family has this disease, we should have a routine check-up once a year.
