3. Dysphagia
When a person has difficulty swallowing the medical term for it is dysphagia. Dysphagia can also cause a person to have difficulty starting the swallowing movement. It may also cause a person to feel like they have food that is stuck in the chest or the neck.
This symptom is quite common in older people, which means that it is often overlooked as a symptom of thyroid cancer. In patients over the age of 50, dysphagia is quite common. When a person has thyroid cancer, the dysphagia or difficulty swallowing is caused by the thyroid gland becomes enlarged. This enlargement causes direct compression in the throat area, which can make it difficult to swallow.
Even after a patient has been treated and has thyroid cancer under control, they may still continue to experience difficulty swallowing. This can be caused as a consequence of the surgery or radiation treatment that is used.