Main symptoms of thyroid cancer
Symptoms of thyroid cancer include:
- a lump in the front, lower part of your neck – the lump usually feels hard, slowly gets bigger and is not painful
- a hoarse voice
- difficulty swallowing or breathing
- pain in the front of your neck, or a feeling like something is pressing against your neck
Less common symptoms can include:
- a red face (flushing) – this may be harder to see on brown or black skin
- softer poos or diarrhoea
- weight loss
- a cough
If you have a thyroid condition, such as a goitre (swollen thyroid), you may get symptoms like these regularly.
You might find you get used to them. But it's important to be checked by a GP if your symptoms change, get worse, or do not feel normal for you.
When and where to get medical help
It's important to get help if you think you have symptoms of thyroid cancer.
Non-urgent advice: See a GP if:
- you have a lump in your neck
- you have a hoarse voice that's not getting better
- you have difficulty swallowing that's not getting better
- you have pain in the front of your neck, or a feeling like something is pressing against your neck
Important
These symptoms are very common and can be caused by many different conditions.
Having them does not definitely mean you have thyroid cancer. But it's important to get them checked by a GP.
This is because if they're caused by cancer, finding it early may mean it's easier to treat.
Urgent advice: Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if:
- you're having difficulty breathing – you may be more short of breath than usual
You can call 111 or get help from 111 online.
What happens at the GP appointment
The GP may feel your neck and might arrange for you to have a blood test.
Referral to a specialist
You may get an urgent referral for more tests or to see a specialist in hospital if the GP thinks you have symptoms that could be cancer. This does not definitely mean you have cancer.