Patient Support & Education

About Thyroid Cancer Surgery

Thyroid cancer is usually treated by surgically removing part or all of the thyroid gland and undergoing a follow-up radioactive treatment to kill any remaining cancer cells.

Your surgery should be done by a very experienced surgeon. Ask your potential surgeon if he or she performs at least 20 thyroid surgeries per year. With an experienced surgeon, the risk of nerve damage is only 1 to 2 percent.

You should expect to be in the hospital for about one or two days after your surgery, and it will take about a week to recover. About six to eight weeks after surgery, you may need to receive a radioactive iodine treatment to kill any remaining cancer cells.

Post-Surgery Treatment

You may need to stop taking thyroid hormone for three to six weeks in order for the radioactive iodine to work. During this time, you can expect to feel very tired, cold, constipated and have difficulty concentrating and controlling emotions. The day after you receive your radioactive iodine treatment, you will begin taking thyroid hormone again and should start feeling better in two-to-four weeks.

After your radioactive iodine treatment, you will undergo a scan to ensure the treatment was successful. It may show that you still need more radioactive iodine treatment. After your treatment is complete, you will need life-long hormone replacement and evaluations.

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