What Is A Thyroid Gland?

Introduction

What is a thyroid gland? How much do people understand about it? The organ is located at the base of the neck, surrounding the trachea. This seemingly insignificant body part plays a vital role in maintaining optimal development and ensuring the balance of an organism's central nervous system. In cases where it malfunctions, endocrine diseases may arise. This is reflected in Erica* who is a sufferer of grave's disease. This essay will first examine the effects of Erica's medical condition on her physical and psychological health and on her lifestyle. Secondly, Erica's personal perception of the disease and reaction to the diagnosis will be discussed. Next, environmental triggers and any other predictors that may have an impact on aspects of the disease will be addressed. Finally, emphasis will be given to Erica's expectations for the future. The author's own predictions will also be included strategically throughout the essay.

Basic information

Born and raised in Australia, Erica's parents were originally Vietnamese refugees who fled to Australia during the Vietnam War. At age 28, Erica is a female who holds the position of a sales and marketing manager. Erica is currently married and lives with her husband.

Grave's disease and the parameters in the prediction of its occurrence

Ando, Latif and Davies (2004) define Grave's disease as a prevalent autoimmune disorder resulting from the excess production of thyroid hormones. Hanna and Lafranchi (2002) suggest that this can be the effect of complicated interactions between external and internal factors. An example of this was that while Erica inherited the gene that caused Grave's disease from her mother, environmental stimulations such as a bacteria infection, stress or simply geographic variables such as her Asian background might have activated the onset of the disease. According to Erica, Asians are more prone to iodine-related diseases due to their low iodine diet.

Erica was first diagnosed with a thyroid condition at the tender age of 21. Hanna and Lafranchi (2002) contends that females are five times more likely to experience hyperthyroidism as compared to males and that in the initial stage of the disease, symptoms are covert despite it having fatal consequences later on. Statistically approximately 0.4% of adults suffer from Grave's disease. The severity of Erica's illness and persistent sanctioning from her parents prompted her to seek medical help immediately. After having had her blood test taken, antithyroid drugs were administered by the doctor based on the laboratory results. This was indicative of the amount of radioactive iodine that is absorbed by the thyroid gland. A high iodine uptake translates to Grave's disease (Isaacs and Ruggieri, 2004).

Various forms of treatment for thyroid disorders

There are three types of treatment for hyperthyroidism. They are antithyroid drugs (ATD), radioactive therapy (RAI) and surgery with the first type of treatment being the most common and the last being rare (Isaacs and Ruggieri, 2004).

Cooper (2005) explains that the use of such immunosuppressive drugs have an advantage over other more dangerous measures such as radiation therapy and surgery. This is largely because oral medication is more affordable and perceived as less life threatening. However, it is unknown to many that RAI can also be administered in medication form- as a radioactive pill ingested orally (Hanna and Lafranchi, 2002). Besides, surveys comparing the effectiveness of the three main treatments of hyperthyroidism have demonstrated up to 90% success rate for each. However, this form of treatment is more time consuming and requires long-term commitment in that frequent tests on the thyroid needs to be done at least once every month until the amount of thyroid hormones secreted appear to be of an acceptable level. If this data remains consistent for the next three months, the amount of drug administered could be lowered and eventually ceased within the span of 18 months (Cooper, 2005). According to Erica, her doctor had to monitor the development of her thyroid. This means that she was required to undergo blood tests on a monthly basis. Understandably, it was tricky to know the exact amount of medication to prescribe since her condition varied periodically, without adhering to a specific trend. Cooper (2005) asserts that an overdose may lead to hypothyroidism while insufficient administration will result in uncontrolled levels of hyperthyroidism. Personally, Erica felt that visits to the practitioner posed as an inconvenience because of her busy schedule at university. The late consultation hours added to her reluctance to seek treatment regularly. In other words, Erica felt that obligations to visit the physician frequently were an interference with her vocational and physical preoccupations (Jones, 2003).

Dilemma over the types of treatment to undertake

Erica's mom who was also a sufferer of Grave's disease could empathize with Erica's suffering perfectly. She advised Erica to undergo either RAI or surgery, as they are the permanent means of solving her thyroid problem. Monetary issues were not a problem for Erica, an Australian citizen who would be covered by the government's public health insurance policy completely. However, the fear of adverse effects from those treatments deterred Erica. In her view, the risks involved in them far outweighed the positive outcomes they could have attained given the bleakness of the situation at that point in time. Erica's primary concern was the effects of RAI on her fertility. However, her doctor assured her that this threat was minimized since the pill was focused solely on the thyroid gland and not on the consumer's reproductive organs. Erica's insecurities were not without reasons. Pauwels et al. (2000) hypothesized the link between RAI and cancer, although only to a small extent. This was illustrated by the research that points to increasing rate of cancer of the thyroid, stomach and other organs associated with digestion and excretion. Furthermore, in RAI, killing more of the thyroid gland than necessary may result in permanent hypothyroidism (Cooper, 2005). However, it was later acknowledged that the improvements brought about by RAI far surpassed its disadvantages. This view was challenged by Isaacs and Ruggieri (2004) who argued that the processes of RAI posed no threats of cancer.

Some experts have attested to the effectiveness of surgical methods of treatment but Isaacs and Ruggieri (2004) refuted this belief. Instead, they claimed that any