Thyroid nodules are tumors, most of which are benign, but some of which are malignant and invasive cancers. These tumors are treatable and increase in frequency with age. They are more common in women. Nodules are an enlargement of the thyroid gland that can often be felt by your physician at the time of physical examination. In patients with a history of prior radiation treatment to the neck, either near the thyroid gland or near a gland called the thymus (such radiation treatment was popular in past decades, although it is no longer used), the risk of nodules is high. These nodules tend to develop long after the treatment.
