Our Facebook Group Head & Neck Cancer Support

Hypothyroidism after Head and Neck Radiation

My partner is a head & neck cancer patient who had multiple surgeries followed by intense radiation treatment in 2014, with the above symptoms only becoming evident in early 2019.  This 'possiblility' had never been pointed out to us by any medical professional and we have recently been made aware of the above named condition due to my partner suffering from extreme exhaustion.  Hyperthyroidism had never been discussed by our last GP (Wanganui) as possibility for his lethargy.  When we moved to Feilding (2019) our new GP compared various blood test results over a period and diagnosed hyperthyroidism & high blood pressure, for which my partner is now taking medication.  The GP disclosed that there had been a marked change in those results over a few years, which had not been picked up by our previous GP.

What is required with blood test results is a comparison chart or table so that a patient can have results explained and shown to them in a meaingful way, a dry explanation does not inform in quite the same way as a visual explanation.

There are many articles available online, some more informative than others, this is the most informative that I have discovered:

https://www.ahns.info/survivorship_intro/hypothyroidism/

G M Rigg