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Check Your Neck!

The small butterfly-shaped gland at the base of your neck is your thyroid, and it does big things for your body. It controls how fast… Read more

The small butterfly-shaped gland at the base of your neck is your thyroid, and it does big things for your body. It controls how fast your heart beats, how quickly you burn calories, and even how you feel each day. When you have thyroid cancer, your whole body is affected.

How to Check Your Thyroid at Home

Checking your thyroid is easy and only takes a few minutes. All you need is a mirror and a glass of water.

1. Stand in front of a mirror where you can see your neck clearly.
2. Tip your head back a little so you can see the area below your Adam’s apple and above your collarbone.
3. Take a sip of water and swallow while watching your neck.
4. Your thyroid will move up and down when you swallow.
5. Look for any bumps, lumps, or if one side looks different from the other.
6. Now use your fingertips to gently feel around this same area.
7. Put your fingers on one side of your windpipe and press gently while moving your fingers around. Do the same thing on the other side. You’re feeling for any lumps or bumps that shouldn’t be there.
8. Your thyroid should feel soft and smooth.

What to Look For

Any new lump or swelling in your neck should be checked by a doctor, especially if it gets bigger or feels hard. If your voice becomes hoarse and stays that way for more than a couple of weeks, that’s worth checking too.

Other things to watch for include trouble swallowing, trouble breathing, pain in your neck or throat, or swollen lymph nodes that last for weeks. Sometimes thyroid cancer doesn’t cause any symptoms at all in the beginning, which is why regular self-checks matter so much.

Why Early Detection Matters

Finding thyroid cancer early makes a huge difference. When it’s caught early, treatment is usually simpler and more successful. Many people with early thyroid cancer only need surgery and then go on to live completely normal lives.

Regular self-checks, plus your regular doctor visits, give you the best chance of catching any problems early. If you do find something unusual during your self-check, your doctor can do more detailed tests to determine the cause.

Don’t worry too much if you feel something different. Most lumps and bumps in the neck are not cancerous. But any change that sticks around should be checked by a doctor. Don’t let worry stop you from doing your monthly checks or from calling your doctor when you have questions.

If you have questions about thyroid health or want to learn more about checking your thyroid, contact Oklahoma Cancer Specialists and Research Institute at (918) 505-3200 to talk with our specialists.