Radioactive iodine therapy might also be used. If doctors remove the entire thyroid, a patient will be given a hormone pill they will need to take for life. Depending on the location and amount of nodules, part or all of the thyroid might also need to be removed. How is thyroid cancer treated?Д¬ancerous thyroid nodules can be surgically removed. Women over age 40 are most at risk forВ thyroid cancer, Moore said, although it can affect men and women of all age groups.ДЄbout 2,170 people dieВ fromВ thyroid cancer annually, according to the American Cancer Society. For example, the cancer could spread outside the thyroid and affect nearby vocal chords, Moore said, causing people to sound hoarse. Only in rare cases of advanced thyroid cancer, people will start to feel that something isn't right. Breathing or swallowing won't be affected. Often, people won't feel any other symptoms. More than halfВ of thyroid lumps are non-cancerous, Moore said. What does it feel like?Д¬ancerous lumps feel firm and hard, while benign or non-cancerous lumps usually feel soft.

Tell a physician about the lump to see if additional tests are needed. If it's big enough to see or feel, usually bigger than a centimeter in diameter, it should be investigated, Moore said. Lumps on the side of the neck are usually lymph nodes. Large thyroid nodules will present in the middle of the neck, just below the Adam's apple. How do you know if you should get your thyroid checked? Here are a few tips: Where is the lump? Eric Moore, professor of head and neck surgery at Mayo Clinic told USA TODAY. It's not uncommon for these cancerous nodules to go unnoticed, because there are rarely symptoms that impact daily life and lumps grow slowly over many months, Dr. More: Doctor watching HGTV spots a lump in woman's throat. More: 'Inside Edition' host Deborah Norville to undergo cancer surgery after viewer spotted lumpДЄ similar situation happened toВ Moussa, when a registered nurse watching 'Flip or Flop' in 2013 wrote show producers that he should get the lump on his neck checked out. The nodule was later determined cancerous by doctors. 'We live in a world of see something, say something, and I'm really glad we do,' she said in a video announcementВ postedВ on the show's official YouTube account. In a video announcement Monday,В Norville said she would undergo surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid nodule first pointed out by a viewer. If it weren't for observant and concernedВ fans ofВ 'Inside Edition' andВ HGTV's 'Flip or Flop,'В Deborah Norville andВ Tarek El Moussa'sВ thyroid cancer might have gone unchecked. Watch Video: Inside Edition host to undergo surgery after viewer noticed a lump

Inside edition reporters