In December, 2004, I had my thyroid taken out and diagnosed with thryoid cancer at the age of 26. I just went for my yearly body scan in Jan. and was told last week that the area where my thryoid was removed was highlighted quit a bit and showed a good amount of iodine intake. To be on the safe side I have to undergo an MRI.
Does this mean that my cancer has come back and if so, would it still be considered "thryoid cancer" or "throat cancer?"

Hello Poetry

An increased uptake just means that, and there can be a number of reasons for this increased radioactive iodine uptake.. If a cancer (new primary or recurrence) contains throid tissue, it is called a thyroid cancer (and there are a number of types). A throat cancer is defined by its location, they are usually squamous cell carcinoma (epithelial cell origin), so thyroid cancers while of a different cell origin could be called a 'throat' cancer. Many of the problems caused are similar, but there is an additional endocrine (hormone-related) management problem. You may find Ruth's story about surviving thyroid cancer of interest.

Hope that helps. Good luck with your scan. Let us know how you get on.

Best wishes
Vinod

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