Cancer requires immediate attention as it has the potential of getting metastatic and spreading to other parts of the body, says DR PRAVEEN GARG
In a rare case, a 61-year-old lady was successfully operated on for double tumors at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi. With underlying conditions like hypertension, obesity and diabetes mellitus, the lady presented with two lumps in her neck and chest. The lump inside her chest was causing discomfort while breathing and was progressively growing. Although these lumps were not painful, the swelling in chest and the prominent bulge in the neck, prompted her to undergo an immediate diagnosis to identify the same. On diagnosis, she was detected with thyroid swelling and a tumor inside chest.
The cancer required immediate attention as it had the potential of getting metastatic and spreading to other parts of the body, hence doctors recommended an immediate sequential cancer tumour removal surgery, which was performed successfully under the supervision of Dr Praveen Garg, Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology, in a five-hour-long procedure.
“While thyroid disorders are common in women, this patient’s complication was challenging since she was diagnosed with a rare combination of tumors in the thyroid and the chest respectively. In a few cases due to abnormal thyroid growth, a nodular swelling can be seen projecting in the chest; these types of cases are rare (2-3 annually). But to our surprise in this patient, thyroid swelling and swelling inside the chest were separate and had no connection,” says Dr Garg.
The patient was detected with a large goitre causing enlargement of both lobes of thyroid and a lump in the chest. On physical examination, she complained of persistent difficulty in breathing. Generally, in such cases two separate surgeries are performed. First is for the removal of the thyroid gland and another one by opening the chest like a heart bypass surgery from where the chest tumor is removed. In this case, keeping in view her comorbidities like blood pressure and diabetes which was kept under control through medicines, both the tumors were removed in a single surgery through the neck without opening the chest. Her postoperative period was uneventful and as chest was not opened she was discharged in 48 hours.
The ongoing pandemic has caused a delay in preventive health check-ups of many diseases in healthcare institutions. Cancer is one of those diseases that need early detection and treatment. Though the fear of contracting COVID is prevalent in the minds of people still by following COVID-appropriate behaviour, people should voluntarily come for early diagnosis of cancer-like diseases. By this action, the lives of many can be saved.
The writer is Dr Praveen Garg Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology, Apollo Hospital, New Delhi