ThyCa NEWS NOTES – August 2011

In This Issue:

Memorial Tribute to Ric Blake, ThyCa Co-Founder

We are saddened to share the news that Ric Blake, ThyCa Co-Founder, passed away in August, after a 16-year battle with follicular thyroid cancer. Ric made major contributions to ThyCa’s founding and ongoing services, including the support groups and the conferences. He gave one-to-one support and encouragement to countless people coping with thyroid cancer. He was a wonderful friend to thyroid cancer survivors around the world.

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September is Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month, Worldwide

Help promote early detection of thyroid cancer, as well as treatment and monitoring according to expert guidelines, research for cures for all thyroid cancer, and opportunities for everyone affected by thyroid cancer to benefit from the services, resources, and events of ThyCa.

You’re invited to partner with ThyCa in this important observance. Get tips on what you can do, plus free handouts, and more on our website.

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More Conference Speakers Confirmed

Latest updates and registration are here.

Our distinguished speakers include more than 30 medical professionals from major centers around the U.S., plus mental health professionals, attorneys, and specialists in complementary approaches to well-being.

We’re excited about the tremendous lineup of distinguished professionals coming. We plan to have more than 60 speakers and more than 100 session choices. For an idea of the range of topics and the timetable, you’ll find last year’s program on our web site, if you scroll down the Conference page, to last year’s conference.

Advance Registration is open, online or by mail. People have already registered from around the U.S. and Canada. If you’re not able to register in advance, you may register onsite at the conference, as a walk-in attendee.

Reserve Your Hotel Room at the special $99 rate if reserved by the hotel’s discount deadline, September 30th. After that date, rooms will be available at the hotel’s regular rates.

We hope to see you in Los Angeles, October 14 – 16, 2011, at the 14th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference.

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Guestbook Is Free

Sign up for our Free Newsletter, or update your contact information (mailing address, e-mail address, etc.

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Free Seminars in Five States and DC in September, Plus Numerous Support Group Meetings

Throughout the month, free ThyCa in-person support groups meet in numerous communities. Find the group nearest to you on this page, which links to all the group web pages: www.thyca.org/sg/

Free educational events with guest speakers:

  • Saturday, September 10, 2011. Free Seminar in Fresno, California. Free Seminar on Saturday, September 10 in Fresno, California, with Physician Speakers. Thank you, Anjali Kapoor-Davis and Miriam Delfin, ThyCa Fresno Support Group Facilitators, for organizing and hosting this wonderful opportunity to learn from experts and meet others coping with thyroid cancer.
  • Saturday, September 17, 2011. Denver (Aurora), Colorado. Free Thyroid Cancer Patient Education Program from 7:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. The program is sponsored by the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in cooperation with ThyCa, and the ATA. Speakers include five physicians.
  • Thursday Evening, September 22, 2011. Hollywood, Florida. Free Thyroid Cancer Question and Answer Program starting at 6:30 p.m., with R. Mack Harrell, M.D., Endocrinologist and Thyroidologist, and David Bimston, M.D., Oncology and Thyroid Surgeon. This Salute to Thyroid Cancer Survivors and Caregivers is presented in honor of Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month. Location: Memorial Hospital South, 3600 Washington Street, Hollywood, Florida. Appetizers, beverages, and desserts served. Contact: Christine Ciletti, ThyCa South Florida Support Group Co-Facilitator, at South-FL@thyca.org.
  • Friday, September 23, 2011. Washington, DC. Free Cancer Legal Rights Conference, with information about the most common cancer-related legal issues. At Georgetown University Law Center. Sponsored by the Cancer Legal Resource Center. ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association is partnering in supporting this conference. For information visit cancerrightsconference.org.
  • Wednesday, September 28, 2011. Waterbury, Connecticut. “My thyroid cancer is gone…now what?” — You’re invited to this free seminar from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. with physician speaker Elizabeth Holt, M.D.,Ph.D., Endocrinologist, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine; Staff Member in Yale Medical Group. Location: Harold Leever Cancer Center, Ground Floor Conference Center, at 10075 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT. In honor of Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month. Details and registration at www.leevercancercenter.org/content/101/default.aspx. Pre-registration requested by phone: 203.575.5544; fax: 203.575.5562;or e-mail: dparkinson@leevercancercenter.org.Click here for information about the meetings of the ThyCa Waterbury, Connecticut, Support group. This event is in honor of Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month.
  • Saturday, October 1, 2011. Osage Beach, Missouri. Free Thyroid Awareness Event on varied thyroid conditions, including thyroid cancer and hypothyroidism. Speakers, resources, and neck checks. 10 a.m. to Noon. Location: Lake Regional Hospital, Third Floor Conference Area, 54 Hospital Drive, Osage Beach, Missouri. Organized and hosted by ThyCa Central Missouri Support Group. Contact Sandy Triplett, Co-Facilitator, at 573-345-0103 or Central-MO@thyca.org.

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Free Patient Information Packets

We will be happy to mail you a free packet of educational materials.

To request a free packet for yourself, please go to our Guestbok), fill out the Guestbook form, and click on Yes in the line that says “Please send me a patient information packet” near the bottom of the address form.

To request a free packet for someone else, please e-mail the person’s name and complete mailing address to thyca@thyca.org.

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Neck Checks—More Letters Respond to Time Magazine Article

An article about cancer screening in Time Magazine’s June 13, 2011 issue said that there should “probably not” be regular screening for thyroid nodules such as by getting neck checks at routine medical appointments. It said that, “Guidelines are ‘under review’ but aren’t a top priority because the mortality rate is so low” and that “a 1996 guideline advised against screening.”

ThyCa immediately sent letters to Time. We will post more letters on www.thyca.org. Please add your voice. Send your letters on this topic to publications@thyca.org.

In the July newsletter, we published two letters. Here are two more:

From Judy S.: “A routine neck exam following the birth of my second child picked up an enlarged thyroid. Careful yearly follow-up resulted in a change being noted several years later and the removal of one thyroid lobe with negative frozen section. Unfortunately, I had to return for completion surgery following a diagnosis of papillary carcinoma. Sixteen years later I believe I am cancer free because of that early detection; therefore, I disagree with Time magazine’s recommendation that neck checks not be part of a routine exam.”

From Joyce L.: “I have had thyroid cancer three times now – 1978, 1999 and 2001 – this is papillary thyroid cancer, most likely caused from radiation treatments in the 1960s and 1970s for acne…. YES, physicians must do neck checks for thyroid cancer nodules. That is how my thyroid cancer was found – again – after 20 years with no sign of it. The physician who checked my neck in 1978 found the first nodule; he checked during a routine physical…. With or without the exposure to radiation that I had, this exam is vital. I can’t believe that such a routine part of a physical exam would be eliminated because the ‘survival rate is so high’ for thyroid cancer. I think all of us who have survived thyroid cancer are the best research to consider…since we have had these examinations and now survive…”

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Follow ThyCa on Facebook and Twitter

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Six Free Webinars Available on www.thyca.org
Watch/Listen Anytime

We’re pleased to invite you to watch and listen any time, from wherever you are, to our Six Free Archived Thyroid Cancer Webinars with Thyroid Cancer Expert Speakers, sponsored by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. Details areon our website, together with information on how to listen. Topics include: Papillary and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer – Primer and Persistent Disease, Medullary Thyroid Cancer – Primer and Persistent Disease, Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer, and Pediatric Thyroid Cancer. Watch and listen to these free webinars as many times as you like.

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Have You Visited Our Web Site Lately?

We’re excited to report that the www.thyca.org web site receives more nthan 400,000 visits per month —more than 12,000 each day.

Almost every day our volunteer webmasters make new additions or updates.

A great place to start reading is the Newly Diagnosed section.

Here, you’ll find lots of topics to choose from. You’ll learn the basics about each type of thyroid cancer, with details about diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up, and links to further guidelines and resources. There’s also the free downloadable booklet, Thyroid Cancer Basics.

On www.thyca.org, more than 650 web pages provide extensive information about all types of thyroid cancer, connections to a broad range of free support services and events, and details about awareness campaigns, as well as fundraising for thyroid cancer research.

Free downloadable publications include the Free Low-Iodine Cookbook in English, Spanish, and French, plus dozens of other publications. A Chinese language translation will be posted soon.

Thank you very much to the more than 50 thyroid cancer specialists who provide input and expertise, to Betty Solbjor and Joel Amromin, our webmasters, and to the many dozens of volunteers on ThyCa’s Publications and Web Site Teams.

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Low-Iodine Recipe of the Month
Contributed by Bridget Corcoran of Illinois

Bridget’s Best Brownie Bites (version 6)

1¼ Cup Sugar
¼ + 1/8 Cup canola oil
2 teaspoons canola oil (replacement for egg yolks)
4 egg whites
2 teaspoons. Vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon Non-iodized Kosher salt (finely ground)
½ teaspoonsBaking powder
½ Cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
½ Cup All-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare mini muffin tins with Pam.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a large bowl, set aside. Mix sugar, oil, egg whites and vanilla extract, let sit for 5-10 minutes. Combine wet mixture with dry and stir until fully incorporated. Using a #60/ 2 tsp. scoop, fill mini muffin tins and bake for approximately 10- 12 minutes.

Recipe makes approximately 40 brownie bites.

Editor’s Note: Thank you, Bridget, for contributing your tasty recipe and many others. We will include your recipes in the next edition of ThyCa’s FREE Downloadable Low-Iodine Cookbook.

Free and Downloadable

Download the 7th edition of the Low-Iodine Cookbook in English for free, with more than 340 favorite recipes from more than 150 generous volunteers.

The Cookbook is also available in:

  • Spanish and
  • French

Please remember, while you’re welcome to download and print the entire free low-iodine cookbook, you can also print just the pages you need.

This free cookbook is a wonderful help when you’re preparing to receive radioactive iodine for treatment or testing. All the recipes are favorites of some of our ThyCa volunteers, who are sharing them with everyone, to make the low-iodine diet easy and tasty. The recipes are also great for family meals and for potlucks, any time.

If you’d like to contribute your favorite recipe or tip, send it to recipes@thyca.org.

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Join Us, Become a Member

Help us sustain, strengthen, and extend our services. We invite you to become a member of ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc.

Your membership dues will support ThyCa’s efforts to reach and serve other survivors and their families around the world. Members receive our quarterly Membership Messenger newsletter.

Membership is open to everyone worldwide. You may become a 1-year ThyCa member ($25), 2-year member ($45), or lifetime member ($225). Click here for our online Membership Form and our mailed Membership Form.

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Support the Rally for Research

Thanks to generous contributions and special fundraising events, ThyCa has awarded new thyroid cancer research grants every year starting in 2003. These grants support our goal of cures for all thyroid cancer and a future free of thyroid cancer. We have again awarded new research grants in 2011.

You’re invited to help support the Rally for Research. For details about the Rally for Research, donation opportunities, special events, Quarters for a Cure, and information about ThyCa’s past and future Research Grants, visit the Rally for Research page.

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Every Day

Every day, thousands of people with thyroid cancer, and their families, receive support, education, and hope from ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. Your generous support is what makes it possible to sustain, strengthen, and expand our services and outreach.

It only takes a minute to make a donation online in support of ThyCa’s work (or you are welcome to donate by mail to ThyCa, P.O. Box 964, Chesterfield, MO 63006-0964), so click here to give.

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About ThyCa NEWS NOTES
Copyright (c) 2011 ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc.

Please share ThyCa News Notes with your family and friends. For permission to reprint in another electronic or print publication, please contact us at publications@thyca.org.

The information in this newsletter is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended, nor should it be interpreted, as medical advice or directions of any kind. Readers are advised to consult their own medical doctor(s) for all matters involving their health and medical care.

Your suggestions for articles are welcome. The deadline for articles and news items is the first day of each month.

Thank you to our writing, editing, and proofreading team for this issue: Dana Fusco, Leah Guljord, Pat Paillard, Barbara Status, Cherry Wunderlich, and Gary Bloom.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. is a national non- profit 501(c)(3) organization (tax ID #52-2169434) of thyroid cancer survivors, family members, and health care professionals. Contact us for free awareness materials and information about our free services and special events. E-mail to thyca@thyca.org, call toll-free at 1-877-588-7904, fax 1-630-604-6078, write PO Box 1102, Olney, MD 20830-1102, or visit our webiste.