Newly Diagnosed?
We Can Help Getting the correct diagnosis and the most appropriate treatment from the start is crucial 
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To diagnose thyroid cancer, your doctor will first ask you about your personal and family medical history. He or she may also use one or more of the following tests:
Physical Examination
The first test for thyroid cancer is a physical examination. Your doctor will feel your thyroid, your throat, and your lymph nodes in the neck for unusual growths or swelling. An unusual growth or swelling may mean a thyroid nodule is present.
Blood Test
Your doctor may use a blood test to check levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). TSH is made by the pituitary gland in the brain. It controls the production of thyroid hormone and controls how fast follicular thyroid cells grow. An abnormal level may suggest the thyroid is not functioning properly. If your doctor thinks you may have medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), you may be tested for a high level of calcitonin and have other blood tests.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound uses powerful sound waves to detect abnormal growths in the neck. Ultrasound can detect a growth or nodule, but cannot show whether it is malignant (cancerous) or benign. Ultrasound may be used to monitor the size of the nodule.
Radioactive Iodine Scan
A radioactive iodine scan, also called an RAI scan, is used to learn more about a thyroid nodule or to find areas in the body where thyroid cancer cells may be growing quickly. For this test, your doctor will ask you to swallow a small, harmless amount of radioactive iodine. The iodine is absorbed by the thyroid gland (or thyroid cells anywhere in the body), and a special camera is used several hours later to see where the radioactivity has gone.
Biopsy
If you have a thyroid nodule, your doctor may order a biopsy. A biopsy is a procedure in which a small amount of tissue is removed. A pathologist, a doctor who specializes in laboratory tests, will examine the tissue to determine whether it is benign or malignant. There are two types of biopsies that are used to diagnose thyroid cancer:
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Fine Needle Aspiration<
This procedure may be performed in your doctor's office or clinic. A local anesthetic may be injected into the skin to numb the area before the biopsy. Your doctor inserts a thin needle into the nodule and removes cells and fluid. An ultrasound device can help your doctor see where to place the needle.
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Surgical Biopsy
Depending on the result of the needle aspiration, your doctor may recommend a surgical procedure to remove the whole or part of the thyroid gland during an operation. This procedure is done under general anesthesia and on an inpatient or outpatient basis.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
PET is a procedure used to find malignant tumor cells in the body. A small amount of radioactive sugar is injected into a vein. Cancer cells absorb sugar more quickly than normal cells, so they light up on the PET scan. This allows your doctor to see if your cancer has gotten worse or has spread to other parts of the body.
Genetic Screening
An abnormal RET gene may cause medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). This gene can be passed from parent to child. Not everyone with an altered RET gene will develop MTC.
Blood tests and genetic tests can detect the RET gene. People with MTC are encouraged to have genetic testing to determine if a mutation of the RET gene is present.
If you test positive for the RET gene, your doctor may recommend genetic testing for siblings and children. A genetic counselor can help determine what a positive or negative test result may mean for you and your family. Visit our Hereditary Cancer & Genetics pages.
There are some rare genetic diseases, such as Cowden disease and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), that confer an increased risk of thyroid cancer, meaning individuals with those diseases have a higher than average risk of also developing thyroid cancer.
