The case of medical student Gabriella Barboza has become famous thanks to the curious way in which she found out that she had a strange type of cancer.
The 22-year-old, who lives in São Paulo, Brazil, he was like any other day taking one of his classes, this time on the correct way to take physical exams in the head area and neck to patients.
When it was her turn and she had to come forward for her teacher, Daniel Lichtenthaler, to exemplify the correct way to examine the neck with her as a model, The young woman only thought of learning the technique that her teacher would teach her to palpate the thyroid.
However, in the middle of practice, Barboza noticed that the man’s reaction was not the same as with his other classmates in previous exercises, which led her to ask him if he had noticed anything strange when the class ended.
When questioned by the young woman, Lichtenthailer only managed to say that there was something there, in his thyroid, and that he should have it checked.
Being a medical student and having been warned in this way by her professor, In October 2020, the young woman decided to pay attention to her strange reaction and undergo medical tests in which she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
This curious fact in his class was very lucky for Barboza, who was only in his third semester, since this type of cancer is usually difficult to diagnose until it is in a much more advanced stage, in which the severity is greater, and the The young man still had no symptoms or visible alterations in the anatomy of his neck.
In addition to the first diagnosis and following undergoing other consultations for a more detailed review, Gabriella’s tests yielded the result that floored her: papillary thyroid carcinoma.
According to the Mayo Clinic, cancer of the thyroid gland may not cause any symptoms at first. But as it grows, it can cause pain and swelling in the neck.
“There are several types of cancer of the thyroid gland. Some grow very slowly and others can be very aggressive. In almost all cases, it is possible to be cured with treatment”, states the institution’s website.
The entity also reports that rates of thyroid gland cancer appear to be increasing, and some doctors think this is because new technology allows them to find small types of thyroid gland cancer that may not have been found in the past .
The entity also points out that the exact cause of this type of cancer is not known, so it is very difficult to prevent it.
In Barboza’s specific case, when papillary carcinoma was discovered, which is the most common type of thyroid cancer, it had already spread to other areas of his neck and to part of his esophagus. However, the doctors who treated her took optimistic positions regarding her treatment.
The positive attitude of the experts might be due to the fact that, according to medical records, 95% of these types of lumps that appear in the neck with cancer are benign, and if a patient like Gabriella is diagnosed with cancer, regarding 97% have a high chance of being cured.
Some of the factors that can increase the risk of thyroid gland cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic, include:
- Female sex. Cancer of the thyroid gland is more common in women than in men.
- Exposure to high levels of radiation. Radiation therapy treatments to the head and neck increase the risk of cancer of the thyroid gland.
- Certain inherited genetic syndromes. Genetic syndromes that increase the risk of thyroid gland cancer include familial medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia, Cowden syndrome, and familial adenomatous polyposis.
Fortunately, the young medical student began her treatment at the hospital in her city in November of that same year, in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, where she had to undergo surgery to remove the thyroid.
Barboza had the mass that had spread across his neck removed, was treated with iodine therapy, which consists of taking a medicine with iodine to eliminate the remains of the cancer in the body, and In February 2021, she was able to leave the medical center when she was diagnosed as free of the disease.
Patients who have had cancer, like Gabriella, should be followed up on a regular basis to examine themselves and closely assess their health. These tests may be recommended monthly or every six months, depending on the cancer you have had and its severity.
“Thyroid cancer can come back, even following you are treated or have surgery to remove your thyroid. This can occur if microscopic cancer cells spread beyond the thyroid before it is removed.
