Is my cancer gone forever?

It's important to remain positive after thyroidectomy. But after your surgery, sometimes thyroid cancer can come back or spread to other parts of the body - even many years later.

It is not possible to know whether all thyroid cancer cells are gone from your body since they may be too few to be identified by current testing methods. After your initial treatment, the risk of the cancer coming back is low in about two thirds of the people diagnosed, especially if diagnosed and treated early. Yet thyroid cancer can come back in as many as a third of patients.

In Canada, 20% of patients suffer recurrence within the first 10 years after initial treatment.

That is why routine checkups are important for the rest of your life, particularly in the first 5-10 years after surgery when the risk of your cancer returning is highest.

Find out how you can get on with your life after thyroid cancer.