Thyroid Cancer: Home Treatment

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Home Treatment

There are certain things you can do to feel better or to reduce the side effects of your treatment for thyroid cancer. For some people, eating healthy foods and getting enough sleep and exercise help control their symptoms.

• Home treatment for constipation includes gentle exercise, drinking lots of fluids, and eating lots of fruits, vegetables, and foods that contain fiber. Check with your doctor before using a laxative for your constipation.
• Home treatment for fatigue includes making sure you get extra rest. You may feel most tired at the end of treatment or just after treatment is completed.
• Home treatment for dry skin includes:
  • Leaving the skin alone as much as possible.
  • Using soap and water sparingly.
  • Using a soothing lotion or body cream daily.
  • Not scratching your skin.

  For more information, see the topic Dry Skin and Itching.

• Home treatment for nausea or vomiting will include watching for and treating early signs of dehydration, such as a dry mouth, sticky saliva, and dark yellow urine. Your doctor also may prescribe medicines to control nausea and vomiting.

  For more information on how to deal with these side effects, see:

  Cancer: Controlling nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy.

• Home treatment for diarrhea includes resting your stomach and watching for signs of dehydration. Check with your doctor before using any diarrhea medicines.

During treatment, you may also experience:

• Hair loss. If you need high doses of radioactive iodine treatment, you may have some hair loss, but it is usually very mild. You may be the only one who notices it.
• Sleep problems. If you have trouble sleeping, you may find it helpful to exercise during the day, have a regular bedtime, and avoid naps.
• Stress. Having any type of cancer can be very stressful. You may feel better if you talk to others, meet with a counselor, or join a support group for people who have thyroid cancer. Learning relaxation techniques (such as yoga or visualization exercises) may also help reduce your stress.
• Pain. You may or may not experience pain with your cancer. If you do have pain, your doctor may give you prescription medicines, or you may use home treatment for pain. If you use home treatment, such as taking pain medicine you can buy without a prescription, be sure to discuss this treatment with your doctor.

Last updated:	September 19, 2007
Author:	Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH
Reviewed By:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine, Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Terrina Vail