Can endometrial and thyroid cancer be treated together?

Question

Hello doctor,

My mother is 48 years old and was recently diagnosed with endometrial cancer. She also has a long-standing thyroid disease that is now suspected to be thyroid cancer as well. Doctors are discussing surgery, but the timing feels confusing.

Can a 48-year-old with both thyroid and endometrial cancer have both conditions treated successfully?
Does one cancer need to be prioritized over the other?
Can both surgeries be performed safely at the same time, or should they be staged?
How will the effect of thyroid hormones affect the treatment of cancer or recovery?

It seems that we are concerned that the treatment of one illness may delay the treatment of the other. It is difficult to manage both illnesses at the same time.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I am really sorry your family is dealing with this. That is quite an amount to process, especially considering that the timing of all that is not clear.

Luckily, there is some good news. Many cases of endometrial cancer and thyroid cancer have been successfully treated, and physicians are well experienced in dealing with such cases.

In most cases, one of them needs treatment more urgently than the other. Endometrial cancer surgery usually comes first since it allows knowing the stage and stopping its progression. In case of thyroid cancer, it grows much more slowly, and therefore it can be postponed for a little bit of time.

Instead of performing them at the same time, the operations are staged and allow avoiding excessive risk of complications such as bleeding, infections, or stress of the organism due to anaesthesia. It is vital to keep the balance of hormones, as too low or too high a level can influence heart rate, metabolism, wound healing, and the ability to tolerate the surgical procedure.

Physicians can adjust Levothyroxine medication in order to keep that balance.

Although it might seem that treatment of one cancer would postpone the other, the treatment regimen is usually coordinated in such a way as to minimize any negative postponements and select the optimal course of action. You may request that the healthcare professionals justify each stage of their treatment plan to reassure yourself.

I wish you are satisfied with my response.

In case of any more questions, feel free to contact me on iCliniq.

Thank you.