In a 40-year period beginning in 1975, diagnoses for thyroid cancer tripled, yet the number of people dying of thyroid cancer remained steady.
According to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, the condition appears to have been overdiagnosed.
The report says small thyroid growths or nodules are common but few are cancerous. The most common type of thyroid cancer, small papillary, grows so slowly that it rarely causes problems.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the treatment could be riskier than the disease since after thyroid removal patients must remain on medicine for life.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
