thyroid problems

• By agg22
• Posted June 14, 2009 at 1:40 am
• Report post

Hi,
About 10% of people have thyroid problems (it's really common) so it may not have anything to do with chemo. Usually you'll feel better within a few weeks of starting the synthroid. It's usually not temporary so you have to be on synthroid daily long-term, but sometimes people try going off of it after a little while and seeing if their levels stay normal - but again most people need to stay on the medication.

Hope that helps,
Anne

• Reply

• By bldrluck
• Posted June 14, 2009 at 11:18 am
• Report post

I've been on synthroid for 12 years - not as a result of the chemo, though. The good news is that it helps with fatigue. I had been incredibly tired before they diagnosed the thyroid issue - almost as bad as chemo tired. The synthroid kicked in immediately to help that. They usually monitor your TSH pretty closely for a while to see if you are on the right dose of synthroid, which they can adjust in minute quantities. But you reminded me that I need to get mine checked now that chemo is done - haven't done that yet!

• Reply

• By mawmaw4
• Posted June 14, 2009 at 2:26 pm
• Report post

Well, thanks for the input guys. I know from what I have read online that a lot of menopausal women do have thyroid problems. I think with full-blown menopause/hysterectomy/chemo, it has done a whammy on my hormones, my diagnosis. I am just one to not take a lot of meds and to add one more , well, I don't like it! But if I have to, I will. I have to get rid of this weight that I put on since chemo, and energy would help!
Love to all!
Bev

• Reply

• By verlinda
• Posted June 14, 2009 at 5:18 pm
• Report post

Mamaw,

My doctor had always monitored my thyroid, and it was normal.

I had no pre-surgery ct-scans, so I don't know whether this was a pre-existing condition, but after chemo, when they did my ct-scan, they found
a large nodule on my thyroid. Although subsequent scans and biopsies came back negative, the doctors were afraid not to remove and test it, so half my thyroid was removed. Everything was fine.

I have no idea whether this was chemo-related.

• Reply

• By kibbitzqueen
• Posted June 14, 2009 at 9:47 pm
• Report post

I also have thyroid issues from 18 years of chemotherapy (and family history).

The thyroid issues have also caused HEART issues for me! I have Heart disease from a hypoactive thyroid but do not actually have a 'Diseased heart'.

After this final chemotherapy for Doxcil, I will have radioactive idodine therapy. Be radioactive and not be able to be around anyone / pets/ family for about 5 days. This should KILL part of my thyroid and make it behave correctly.

Once THAT happens, my heart SHOULD start beating regularly again THEN all I'll have to deal with is the CANCER! SHEESH! Who knew all this could be caused from chemo?!?!?!

• Reply

• By mawmaw4
• Posted June 17, 2009 at 4:11 pm
• Report post

Yeah! Who knew chemo could cause other things to malfunction??!! I ended up having to go onn Synthroid which I did not want to do but I have not felt good for several weeks now, and I was doing so well have last chemo treatment. Oh well, just thankful that there is no cancer! I guess I can deal with the rest!

• Reply

• By Luann
• Posted June 18, 2009 at 1:48 pm
• Report post

Hi MawMaw3,

I started having problems with my thyroid about a 3 years before my ovca diagnosis.
I have often wondered if there was a link between
hypothyroidism and ovca.
It would be interesting to know how many women who
developed hypothyroidism have also been diagnosed
with ovarian cancer...is there a link?
There are 6 replies to your question but if a study were to be done, I can't help but wonder what the numbers would be in regard to this.
Blessings!
Luann

• Reply

• By mawmaw4
• Posted June 19, 2009 at 3:53 pm
• Report post

I agree. It's all hormonal you know. I started the synthroid and today I feel a little better and stronger, guess I will have to wait a month or so to see if this dose works.

• Reply

• By metwo
• Posted June 20, 2009 at 8:26 am
• Report post

I have hyperthyroidism which was diagnosed a year prior to my Ovca diagnosis. I did read a report that linked this to a 80% probability for Ovca, but one report does not make anything true either.
http://www.cancerpage.com/news/article.asp?id=488

• Reply

• By lifeisgrand
• Posted September 2, 2009 at 1:55 pm
• Report post

What symptoms made you suspect a thyroid problem? Or did it just come up on routine lab tests?

I started having nausea and indigestion about a week after my last chemo treatment. My gyn/onc didn't feel it was connected to the cancer and possibly a new problem related to the treatment such as an ulcer. I went to my PCP today thinking he'd give me some acid inhibitors but instead he ran a thyroid study. I won't know for a day or two the results (and possibly not even then as the lab wasn't sure they got enough blood out of me to run the test) so I'm just curious what symptoms you had and whether I should be concerned about this.

• Reply

• By kibbitzqueen
• Posted September 5, 2009 at 11:45 am
• Report post

Wow! This article was amazing to me! I was diagnosed with hyperactive thyroidism and just today finished my Radioactive Iodine Therapy. I've been on medication for almost a year! I had no idea the two could be linked (now it's clear as a bell)!

Thanks for posting this article. I'm going to investigate futher on this issue.

I didn't know my thyroid issues could be triggered by this! I did have signs but didn't pay attention to them.

Here are a few of the things the Doctor questioned me about.

1. Enlargement of the thyroid gland.
(when I lay in the bathtub with my chin to my chest it got harder to breath over time). I never even noticed it until it was brought to my attention.

2. Being 'Hyper'
My dad always told me to 'slow down' 'take my time'. At work I would do my job really fast! I felt like I was always on 'overdrive' and rarely slowed down. Everything I did was FAST.

3. I 'wiggled' my foot ALL THE TIME.
Apparently because of the extra energy I had all the time, I was moving my foot all the time. While watching TV or anytime I was just sitting. It was hard for me to sit still EVER.

4. Sleep issues, Insomnia.

5. Rapid Heart Beat
I just thought it was normal that my heart pumped like crazy for a few beats then was normal again.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hyperthyroidism/DS00344/DSECTION=symptoms

This is the best website I found for expalining hyperthyroidism.

• Reply

• By Lindaje
• Posted September 5, 2009 at 1:07 pm
• Report post

Wow. I was diagnosed as Hypothyroid while in care for my breast cancer. The oncologist asked if I had a doctor I could see for it, and get a thyroid scan. I said yes, but no way was I going for yet another scan. I did finally see my GP after I finished my chemo and told her what he thought. She looked at my neck and had me swallow water, and decided that yep, it looked enlarged. I had the blood test ( no scan, thank you ) and sure enough, under functioning thyroid. I told her that I was soooo tired, and I wasn't that tired with chemo. Also, it felt like someones hands were around my throat all the time. I could not wear anything even close to a turtleneck. I've been on thyroid since 1993. A 15 pound weight loss has decreased the strength. I often wondered if this thyroid problem was connected to the cancer.

• Reply

• By lifeisgrand
• Posted September 8, 2009 at 3:03 pm
• Report post

I went for the scan today and they wouldn't do it because of the CT scan I had a little over two weeks ago could skew the results. Now I'm scheduled in two more weeks. I absolutely hate waiting for answers! but wait I must.

Funny you mention the overactive foot... mine is always going. Most of the symptoms I have seem to have fallen into the same categories of menopause or chemo side effects. Sweating, waking at night, runs of rapid heartbeats... And I've been snoring a lot, something that I wasn't doing after my surgery but seems to have returned with a vengence.

Okay here's a good one... the list of questions... any recent hair loss?... LOL... I'm sitting there bald as a baby's back side with a hat on...

• Reply

• By Charyl
• Posted September 25, 2009 at 11:59 am
• Report post

Hi, I found your posts while researching thyroid and ovarian cancer links. I had an enlarged thyroid and was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 1997; had the surgery, radioactive iodine megadose, and take Synthroid. In 2006 I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer; had surgery and chemo. I am cancer free for 3years!!! In both situations I was told that I did not have cancer, surgery was delayed and specialty care was denied until after cancer was discovered. I still have issues with the Synthroid as my blood levels fluctuate and am having bone loss and arthritis due to high doses of the thyroid medication. I am looking for more info on how the two conditions could be related as I feel that I have to be my own doctor and advocate. I am sorry to read about your conditions but take comfort in knowing that we may be able to help each other.

• Reply

• By lifeisgrand
• Posted October 8, 2009 at 8:28 am
• Report post

charyl... here's a bit of research I came up with linking hyperthyroid and ovarian cancer.
Inflammation, Even From Talc, Linked To Ovarian Cancer Risk

Factors that cause inflammation in the lining of the ovaries -- such as endometriosis, or even powdering with talc -- increase the risk of ovarian cancer, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

But the team also reports that gynecologic surgery, such as the female sterilization procedure tubal ligation, greatly reduces a woman"s risk of developing the cancer.

In a study of more than 2,000 women aged 20 to 69, investigators found that those with a history of endometriosis, ovarian cysts, or overactive thyroid were at increased risk for ovarian cancer. Talc use, which may spur inflammation in the ovarian lining, also elevated cancer risk. A team led by Roberta B. Ness, of the Graduate School of Public Health, reports the findings in the March issue of the journal Epidemiology.

Certain factors that suppress ovulation and hormones that affect the ovaries -- such as pregnancy, birth control pill use, and breastfeeding -- have widely been found to protect against ovarian cancer. Yet the risk related to ovarian inflammation is less well understood, according to Ness and her colleagues. Inflammation, they note, produces toxic oxidants that inflict genetic damage in cells, a process that may lead to cell changes and cancer.

In interviews with women with and without ovarian cancer, the study authors found that, as expected, pregnancy and breastfeeding reduced cancer risk. In addition, the team found a 50% decrease in risk with a first pregnancy and small dips with each subsequent pregnancy. Oral contraceptives also lowered cancer risk when used for at least one year.

The Pittsburgh researchers then questioned the women on factors that can trigger ovarian inflammation. Three medical conditions were found to increase cancer risk, relative to women without the conditions: ovarian cysts, growths on the ovaries that can be harmless or dangerous, increased cancer risk by 30%; a 70% higher risk was linked to endometriosis, a condition in which pieces of the uterine lining grow outside of the uterus; and hyperthyroidism, a disorder marked by overproduction of thyroid hormones, was linked to an 80% higher risk of ovarian cancer.

Both endometriosis and ovarian cysts may trigger local inflammation, and both have been linked to ovarian cancer in previous studies, Ness and colleagues note. This study is the first, however, to connect hyperthyroidism and ovarian cancer. Hyperthyroidism, the researchers explain, often results from the immune system"s assault on the thyroid gland; such autoimmune diseases are systemic and can trigger widespread inflammation.

As in numerous other studies, women who used talc anywhere on their bodies or in their underwear showed an elevated cancer risk, even when risk factors such as family history of ovarian cancer were considered.

One condition that causes ovarian inflammation, pelvic inflammatory disease, was linked to only a slight incline in cancer risk. Other studies, the authors note, have shown a stronger link.

Having had a hysterectomy or a tubal ligation helped protect women from ovarian cancer. These procedures, the researchers explain, cut off the path between the lower and upper genital tract, blocking inflammatory substances from gaining access to the ovarian lining

SOURCES:

Reuters Health, March 8, 2000
The journal Epidemiology , March 2000; 11:111-117

• Reply

Add to the discussion