What does it mean when you have thyroid cancer in your...
1 answer
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Last updated: Oct 01, 2010
Q
What does it mean when you have thyroid cancer in your spinal fluid?
A
It is possible for cancer in the thyroid to metastasize or spread to different areas of the body, which include the spine and cerebrospinal fluid- the fluid the bathes the brain and spinal cord. Sometimes cancer cells are able to break away from their primary tumor and invade the blood stream or lymph vessels by secreting special enzymes. Once, they enter the circulatory or lymphatic systems, the cancer cells are able to travel to any part of the body where they can reestablish themselves and form a new tumor. A cancer formed by cells that have metastized from a primary tumor is called metastatic cancer or secondary cancer because it is not made of cells in the area of the new tumor.
