Three Physicians To Speak on April 17, 2004, at 3rd Annual DC Capital Area Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Workshop

On Saturday, April 17, thyroid cancer survivors and their families are invited to attend a one-day workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Holy Cross Hospital, 1500 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, Md. Sponsor is ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. <www.thyca.org>. The ThyCa web site has a flyer with details.

The workshop is FREE and open to people at all stages of testing and treatment for all types of thyroid cancer, as well as their families, friends, and caregivers.

Physician presenters are Jacqueline Jonklass, M.D., Endocrinologist, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC; Stanley Knoll, M.D., Clinical Professor of Surgery, George Washington University Medical Center and Georgetown University Medical Center; and Kathleen A. Prendergast, M.D., Endocrinologist, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C.

The physicians will speak and answer questions about all phases of thyroid cancer care, as well as research advances related to thyroid cancer diagnosis, treatment, and long-term follow-up. This educational and supportive event will also include a session led by a social worker, as well as sessions on coping skills and complementary care for well-being, and survivor and caregiver roundtables.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. is a voluntary nonprofit, 501(c) (3) organization providing support services, resources, and publications, free of charge, to thyroid cancer survivors and their families.

For more information about the free workshop and other free support services, downloadable publications, and annual conference sponsored by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., e-mail tothyca@thyca.org, or visit the web site.

Beginning on Saturday, March 6, 2004, Southwest Virginia’s first support group for thyroid cancer survivors will meet from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Lewis-Gale Medical Center Oncology Center (Reception Area near the cafeteria), 1900 Electric Road, Salem, Va. The ThyCa Roanoke support group will meet at 10:30 a.m. on the first Saturday morning each month thereafter.

Organized by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., the ThyCa Roanoke support group is free and open to all thyroid cancer survivors, their families, friends, and caregivers. For information about ThyCa Roanoke, contact the support group facilitator, Patrick Alberti, by phone at 434-258-7717 or e-mail toRoanoke-VA@thyca.org.

Free support groups for thyroid cancer survivors are organized across the United States by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. ThyCa is a nonprofit, volunteer organization providing person-to-person and e-mail support groups, a free low-iodine cookbook, a free newsletter, and other educational services and resources to thyroid cancer survivors and their families at no charge. ThyCa’s 7th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference takes place on October 22-24, 2004, in Chicago, Illinois.

For more information about ThyCa’s free services, visit the web site, call toll-free 1-877-588-7904, write PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, or e-mail to thyca@thyca.org.

The second thyroid cancer research grant to be sponsored by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. (ThyCa) will be awarded in the spring of 2004, ThyCa Board Chair Gary Bloom has announced.

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) has announced the grant proposal requirements on the Home Page of its web site.

Preliminary proposals for the ThyCa-sponsored grant are being solicited and are due at the American Thyroid Association by January 31, 2004. ATA’s review panel will rank the preliminary proposals and ask authors of selected proposals to submit full grant applications, from which the grant recipient will be selected.

“We are proud of ThyCa’s growing efforts to raise funds for research to improve the treatment of thyroid cancer, the most common endocrine cancer. Thyroid cancer is one of the few cancers that is increasing in incidence. More research on this challenging disease is urgently needed. We are grateful to everyone in the endocrinology community for their for people coping with thyroid cancer,” says ThyCa Board Chair Gary Bloom.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., is an all-volunteer, national nonprofit 501 (c)(3) service organization of thyroid cancer survivors, families, and health care professionals. ThyCa’s mission is education, support, and communication for people at all stages of testing, treatment, and follow-up for all types of thyroid cancer, as well as for their families and friends.

Free support services and resources include ThyCa’s award-winning educational web site, seven e-mail support groups, local support groups in 30 states coast to coast, a Person To Person Network giving one-to-one support, a toll-free survivors’ telephone number, a free online newsletter, a free downloadable low-iodine cookbook, and free regional one-day workshops. In addition, ThyCa’s annual international conference brings together thyroid cancer survivors, families, and experts in thyroid cancer treatment and research.

The 7th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference will take place October 22-24, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois at the Hyatt Deerfield Hotel. Speakers will include thyroid cancer specialist physicians, other specialists, long-term thyroid cancer survivors, and caregivers.

Information about thyroid cancer, ThyCa’s free support services, free downloadable publications, and the annual conference is available by writing to PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, e-mail tothyca@thyca.org, or the ThyCa web site.

Beginning on Monday, January 26, 2004, Kansas City’s first support group for thyroid cancer survivors will meet from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Wynbrick Healing Arts Center, 1701 Wynbrick Drive, Liberty, Mo. ThyCa Kansas City will meet at 7 p.m. on the last Monday evening each month thereafter.

Organized by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., the ThyCa Kansas City support group is free and open to all thyroid cancer survivors, their families, friends, and caregivers. For information about ThyCa Kansas City, contact Debbie Parnacott by phone at 816-580-7728 or e-mail to kc-mo@thyca.org.

Free support groups for thyroid cancer survivors are organized across the United States by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. ThyCa is a nonprofit, volunteer organization providing person-to-person and e-mail support groups, a free low-iodine cookbook, a free newsletter, and other educational services and resources to thyroid cancer survivors and their families at no charge. ThyCa’s 7th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference takes place on October 22-24, 2004, in Chicago, Illinois.

For more information about ThyCa’s free services, visit the web site at www.thyca.org, write PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, or e-mail to thyca@thyca.org.

Beginning on Thursday, January 15, 2004, Southwest Michigan’s first support group for thyroid cancer survivors will meet from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Gilda’s Club, 1806 Bridge Street NW, Grand Rapids, Mich. The ThyCa Southwest Michigan support group will meet at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday evening each month thereafter.

Organized by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., the ThyCa Southwest Michigan support group is free and open to all thyroid cancer survivors, their families, friends, and caregivers. For information about ThyCa Southwest Michigan, contact the support group facilitator, Mary Van Diepenbos, by phone at 616-457-9258 or e-mail to sw-mi@thyca.org.

Free support groups for thyroid cancer survivors are organized across the United States by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. ThyCa is a nonprofit, volunteer organization providing person-to-person and e-mail support groups, a free low-iodine cookbook, a free newsletter, and other educational services and resources to thyroid cancer survivors and their families at no charge. ThyCa’s 7th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference takes place on October 22-24, 2004, in Chicago, Illinois.

For more information about ThyCa’s free services, visit the web site at www.thyca.org, write PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, or e-mail to thyca@thyca.org.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. invites thyroid cancer survivors to take part in its online Thyroid Cancer Patient Experience Survey.

The survey questionnaire is available on ThyCa’s web site, on the right side of the Home Page. Participants start by clicking on the words “Click here” on the introduction page and will then reach further pages with a “Continue” button at the bottom of each page.

ThyCa’s goal in sponsoring the survey is to provide key information for both health care professionals and patients on thyroid cancer treatment, management, and the experiences of thyroid cancer survivors.

The survey results will be reviewed by thyroid cancer specialist physicians and will be published on the ThyCa web site.

The survey has several dozen questions, including questions for everyone diagnosed with thyroid cancer, plus groups of questions specifically designed for each type of thyroid cancer. The questionnaire uses the skip-logic technique so that participants will see questions that apply only to their own type of thyroid cancer. The survey is anonymous and confidential.

The questionnaire was developed by ThyCa volunteers with input from thyroid cancer specialist physicians. Survey funding came from the Advisory Board Foundation, Genzyme Therapeutics, and ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc.

To take part in the survey and for information about thyroid cancer and ThyCa’s free support services, publications, and special events, visit the ThyCa web site.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., is pleased to announce the publication of the expanded 4th edition of its free Low Iodine Cookbook, with recipes created and contributed by 37 thyroid cancer survivors from coast to coast.

The Cookbook is now available free and downloadable from the ThyCa web site.

The cookbook has 43 pages and contains over 120 varied low-iodine recipes for use in the weeks prior to a radioiodine scan or treatment. The book was edited by Leah Guljord, ThyCa’s Assistant Board Chair, Support Groups Coordinator, and facilitator of the ThyCa Space Coast of Florida local support group in Melbourne, Florida.

The recipes were donated to ThyCa by members and participants in ThyCa’s e-mail support groups. In addition to the recipes, the cookbook offers snack ideas, guidelines for the diet, and numerous tips on how to make the most of the diet.

The cookbook is in PDF format and can be downloaded using the free software Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file. Web site visitors who do not already have Adobe will find a link at the bottom of the ThyCa homepage <www.thyca.org> to download it. Because of the large size of the cookbook file, it may take some computers several minutes to download the Cookbook.

Readers who would like to contribute their original recipes for the 5th edition are invited to e-mail their recipes to ThyCa at recipes@thyca.org. For information about thyroid cancer, ThyCa’s free support services and publications, and special events, visit the web site.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., is pleased to announce that Steven I. Sherman, M.D., has become a member of ThyCa’s
Medical Advisory Council.

Dr. Sherman is an endocrinologist and thyroid cancer specialist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he joined the staff in 1993. He serves on the Executive Council and Education Committee of the American Thyroid Association, the Publications Committee of The Endocrine Society, the Board of Directors of the Texas Chapter of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and the Thyroid Cancer Panel of the National 
Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines Program.

Dr. Sherman’s presentations and question and answer sessions at this year’s 6th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference focused on the management of papillary and follicular thyroid cancer and their variants, and on anaplastic thyroid cancer treatment and research. The conference weekend brought together more than 340 participants from 32 states, 2 Canadian provinces, and the United Kingdom.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, with a major in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dr. Sherman graduated from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1985. He completed his postgraduate internship, residency, and clinical fellowship training at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a frequent presenter at meetings of professional organizations. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Journal.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that provides a network of services and resources for thyroid cancer survivors and their families at no charge. ThyCa’s services include support groups, a free low-iodine cookbook, a free online newsletter, an award-winning educational web site, free spring workshops, and other educational services and
resources.

On October 22-24, 2004, ThyCa’s 7th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference will take place in Chicago, Illinois.

The members of ThyCa’s Medical Advisory Council are experts in the field of thyroid cancer, with specialties in endocrinology, surgery, pathology, nuclear medicine, and research on laboratory testing related to thyroid cancer. ThyCa’s medical advisors provide medical information updates to ThyCa and support ThyCa’s goals in education, treatment, and research.

For more information about thyroid cancer, ThyCa’s free year-round support groups and other support services, and the workshops and annual conference, visit the web site at www.thyca.org, write to PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, or e-mail to thyca@thyca.org.