The thyroid is a gland that controls metabolism and releases a hormone that stimulates many functions in the human body, including producing heat, consumes oxygen, etc. When cells change or mutate, thyroid cancer occurs. The abnormal cells begin multiplying in the thyroid to form a tumor in the gland.

Primarily, there are 4 types of thyroid cancer:

• Papillary (80%-85% of cases)
• Follicular (7%-15% of cases)
• Anaplastic (1%-2% of cases)
• Medullary (3%-5% of cases)

Papillary
This is the most common type of thyroid cancer and is totally asymptomatic. It is one of a differentiated form of thyroid cancer. It can also be referred to as well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) which means the cancer cells resemble healthy cells to some extent. If papillary thyroid cancer metastasizes, it is likely to be found in the lymph nodes in the neck. This type of cancer tends to have more than one cancerous nodule in the thyroid gland and in the lymph nodes, either in the neck or chest. This form of cancer has a high rate of survival and a high number of cured cases both in men and women. This cancer accounts with the vast majority of people due to radiation exposure but is more common in females than in males. It includes people of ages from 30 to 50 years. The prognosis is related to age and gender.

Follicular
It is the second most extensive type of thyroid cancer. Follicular cancer is also a differential form of thyroid cancer (DTC). This cancer spreads more likely to the lungs or bones. There are some cases in which the patients have a mix of papillary-follicular thyroid cancer. It occurs in the slightly older age group and less in children. The lung, bone, brain, liver, bladder, and skin are potential sites of distant spread in this type of cancer. The overall cure rate is high, but this decreases with age.

Anaplastic
This is a very exceptional and rare form of thyroid cancer. The anaplastic thyroid nodules in the body are undetected for a long time but suddenly become aggressive. It spreads quickly and is quite harder to treat. The anaplastic cases are very rare which account about 1.5% of thyroid cancer cases. The peak onset of the cancer is 65 years and older and it is very rare in young patients. The rapidly growing neck mass is one of the main characteristics of cancer. The cure rate is very low.

Medullary
This cancer originates in the C cells of the thyroid. The C cells neither make thyroid hormone nor do they take up iodine. This is the reason the medullary thyroid cancer is not treated with radioactive iodine. Around 4% of thyroid cancers are in this form. It originates in the upper central lobe of the thyroid usually and then spread to neck lymph nodes (regional metastasis occurs early in the disease), and later spread to distant organs which include liver, bone, and adrenal medulla.

These are the types of Thyroid cancers and as per your condition, the doctor may recommend the treatment accordingly, however, it is worth noting that it is one of the most curable cancers.