ThyCa NEWS NOTES – June 2009

In This Issue:


Thyroid Cancer 2009 Statistics Show That It’s the 6th Most Common Cancer in Women, Increasing in Men

ThyCa Urges Early Detection Through Neck Checks

  • Thyroid cancer, one of the few cancers that has increased in incidence over the past decade. Approximately 37,200 people will be newly diagnosed in the United States in 2009, reports ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association.
  • Thyroid cancer is now the 6th most common cancer in women. About three times as many women as men are diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
  • Thyroid cancer has several types and variants. It affects people in all age groups, from young children through senior citizens.
  • Thyroid cancer is usually treatable when found early.
  • A total of 27,200 women and 10,000 men are expected to be diagnosed with thyroid cancer this year. The number of deaths is expected to increase by about 2.5% over last year, to 1,630 in 2009.
  • The number of new diagnoses predicted is about the same as last year’s record total, and about double the number from 10 years ago, according to information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Cancer Society. The number of new cases in men is expected to increase more than 11% in 2009 over 2008.
  • ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. urges everyone to learn about thyroid cancer and to ask for a neck check at each doctor’s appointment.
  • Help raise awareness for early detection. E-mail us at thyca@thyca.org to receive free materials, or call 877-588-7904, or download free awareness flyers from our Raise Awareness page.

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San Francisco/Northern California Free Workshop – You’re Invited

ThyCa is proud to announce another free regional workshop, to be held in Stanford California on July 25th. You’ll find the flyer on www.thyca.org in the Conferences/Workshops section.

ThyCa’s free workshops offer terrific opportunities to learn from experts and meet and share experiences, and support with other thyroid cancer survivors and caregivers. Most regional workshops are hosted by support groups. Please contact support_coord@thyca.org if you’d like information about developing a workshop in your area.

  • You may come for part or all of the workshop.
  • Free. Register either online or onsite at the workshop.
  • For more information, e-mail to thyca@thyca.org or call 1-877-588-7904.
  • Visit ThyCa’s web site <www.thyca.org> for further details about the speakers, programs, and directions.

San Francisco/Northern California Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Workshop
Saturday, July 25, 2009
12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Stanford, California

Featured Speakers:

  • Haruko Akatsu, M.D., M.S., Endocrinologist, Stanford University Hospital, CA
  • Wen T. Shen, M.D., Endocrine Surgeon, University of California at San Francisco, CA
  • Mike Yao, M.D. ENT, Stanford University Hospital, CA

Location: Stanford Cancer Center, 875 Blake Wilbur Drive, Stanford, CA 94305.

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Support Group Meetings – Welcome and Invitation.

Every month, more than 60 thyroid cancer support groups hold meetings. Support group meetings are open to everyone whose lives have been touched by thyroid cancer.

The meetings offer wonderful opportunities to meet others in person and share experiences, strength, and hope while learning from others with varied situations with their thyroid cancer. Advance registration not required.

We would like to welcome these new Support Groups:

ThyCa Dixie, in the Phenix City area of Alabama. This returning group meets on the third Saturday of every month and started in June.

Climax Springs, MO, (Central Missouri) which meets the second Friday of every month and will be starting in July.

Cleveland, Ohio, which meets on the first Wednesday of every month and will start in August.

A new Group will be starting soon in Miami, Florida, and will offer both English and Spanish speaking facilitators. Check future Newsletters for more details about this group.

Go to www.thyca.org/sg/ for a complete list of groups, contact information, and meeting schedules. Or, if you don’t have internet access, call (toll-free): 877-588-7904

If you’re interested in starting a group in your area, contact support_coor@thyca.org or 877-588-7904.

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Conference Registration Now Open

We’re pleased to announce that registration for The 12th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference is now open.

You may register by mail or on line. Cost of registration is $45 full fee; $35 Annual ThyCa Member; $30 Lifetime ThyCa Member; $25 Guest (family member or caregiver); $25 for One-Day Attendance.. Early-bird Discount will be given to those who register on line by September 16th or by mail that is postmarked by September 16, 2009. After September 16th the cost goes up by $5.

Visit our Conferences page for the registration form.

This year’s conference will be held at the Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel in Danvers, Massachusetts which is located about 20 miles north of Boston. You’ll find the hotel details and room reservation information on our website or by calling 877-588-7904.

Tickets for the Saturday Evening Dinner/Auction to raise much needed funds for thyroid cancer research (held on October 17) can be purchased on line or by mail and cost $50 per ticket. This event raises funds for Thyroid Cancer Research and is a lot of fun. Help ThyCa raise funds so we all can continue funding thyroid cancer research (now 7 straight years). The web site has the reservation form.

Hope to see you at the conference in October!

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Our Free Guestbook

It’s quick and easy to sign up to receive our free online newsletter, plus announcements of ThyCa events and activities. It’s a great way to stay connected to the thyroid cancer community, and to stay up to date on changes in treatments and testing methods, especially if you’re a long-term survivor.

Just fill out our Guestbook form.

To protect each person’s privacy, the mailing list is for the sole use of ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., and its affiliates. ThyCa does not ever sell, share, or give away any contact information.

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ThyCa Participates at Endocrine Society Annual Meeting

We are pleased to report that ThyCa representatives Gary Bloom, Jan Halzel, Pharm.D., and Cal Pierce participated at the Annual Meeting of The Endocrine Society in June in Washington, DC. This meeting offered a wonderful opportunity to learn the latest advances in all aspects of endocrinology, including thyroid cancer, which is the most common endocrine cancer.

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Birthday Party Raises More Than $9,000 for Thyroid Cancer Research

Volunteer Ken Pelt of Wisconsin organized a creative and unique fundraiser for ThyCa, a birthday party and a celebration of his surviving his thyroid cancer diagnosis. This event was highly successful, resulting in donations of more than $9,000 to ThyCa. Happy Birthday, Ken,, and congratulations on surviving your thyroid cancer diagnosis. Thank you very much, Ken, for your wonderful support.

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Thank you, Chris Prestano

We would like to extend our special appreciation to Chris Prestano of New Jersey for your special fundraising efforts this spring, which have resulted in numerous donations in support of ThyCa. We are deeply grateful for your wonderful efforts.

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Free Patient Information Packets

Would you, or someone you know, like our free Patient Information Packet? Just send an e-mail with your name and complete mailing address to us at thyca@thyca.org, with “patient packet” in the subject, or call us at 1-877-588-7904 and we’ll be happy to mail the packet.

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What’s New on the Web Site?

Our web site has more than 650 pages of content. More than 50 distinguished physicians plus numerous other specialists provide ongoing input and review. We greatly appreciate the wonderful support of these medical specialists.

We update and expand the web site every week. Thank you to our Web team, Betty Solbjor and Joel Amromin; our Publications Committee members; and our Medical Reviewers.

Visit www.thyca.org often for the latest information updates, the schedules of local support group meetings, and news about special events, or to get involved.

And let us know if you have ideas for additional web site content, as well as additional questions to be answered by physicians. E-mail your ideas to thyca@thyca.org. This is our web site, and it benefits from everyone’s contribution. It’s also a great way to start being involved!

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From the E-Mail Box in June

A few of our recent e-mails…

From Minnesota:
Please send packet for new patients as I have been newly diagnosed and will be having surgery in a few days. Need all the information and support I can get at t his time thank you.

From New Mexico:
Thank you very much. My wonderful sister in law just received her diagnosis today and I want her to have your info, and I would like to receive it too. Maybe I can help her.

From New York:
I am a head & neck surgeon with many thyroid cancer patients. Would you kindly send me some of your free patient materials/pamphlets? Thank you.

From Kentucky:
My daughter, age 13 was diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid cancer in May. She is scheduled to have a total thyroidectomy and bilateral neck dissection on Saturday morning. I have used your website extensively to educate myself about this disease and I wanted to thank you for it! I also wanted to see if you were still doing the Backpack Project. (Editor’s Note: yes, ThyCa still provides a backpack with thyroid cancer information in it to any pediatric thyroid cancer survivor whose family requests one).

From California:
Please send free packets for our thyroid patients. Our radiation oncologist sees new 4-6 thyroid patients/ month. These patients have radioactive I-131 ablation treatment.

From Virginia:
My Endocrinologist gave me the www.thyca.org web site today at the hospital. Could you please send me your free Patient Information Packet?

From Florida:
What a wonderful e-mail and what a wonderful service you offer.

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Are You a Member? Please Join ThyCa!

Help us sustain, strengthen, and extend our services. We invite you to join 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.

You may join as a one-year member ($25), two-year member ($45), or lifetime member ($225).

For our secure online Membership form and our mailed Membership form, go to our Membership page.

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Low-Iodine Recipe of the Month

Contributed by Linda Reardon of Stoughton, Massachusetts

Very Easy American Chop Suey

1 1/2 cans of Unsalted Stewed Tomatoes
11/2 cans of Unsalted Tomato Sauce
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 Box of Elbow macaroni
1/2 lb. chopped meat 99% fat free

Add unsalted stewed tomatoes and unsalted tomato sauce, garlic, basil, and oregano to a sauce pan (use a potato masher to mash up stewed tomatoes in the pan). Let simmer.
Brown the chopped meat and strain any fat, before adding to sauce mixture. Continue simmering while you boil the macaroni for approximately 10-12 minutes or according to directions.
Strain the macaroni and add to the sauce and meat mixture.
Stir to combine and serve.

You can also freeze this sauce for before you go Hypo.

Linda writes: “Happy Dieting”

Thank you, Linda! We’ll let people know about this recipe in the next edition of the FREE Downloadable Low-Iodine Cookbook. We hope to see you at the conference in October!

Download the 6th edition of the Low-Iodine Cookbook for free, with more than 250 favorite recipes from more than 100 generous volunteers, here. The Cookbook is also available in Spanish.

This free cookbook is a wonderful help when you’re preparing to receive radioactive iodine for treatment or testing. All the recipes are the 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 to the cookbook’s next edition, send it torecipes@thyca.org.

One-Page Summary- Low-Iodine Diet Guidelines:

  • in English
  • in Spanish

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Help Support the 2009 Rally for Research

Thanks to generous contributions and special fundraising events, ThyCa will award new thyroid cancer research grants in support of our goal of cures for all thyroid cancer and a future free of thyroid cancer, for the 7th year in a row.

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Want To Volunteer?

We welcome new volunteers at any time. Volunteering for ThyCa is one way to help and support others touched by thyroid cancer, and you feel much better yourself because you know you have helped someone else through something you’ve been through. Try it; you might like it!

To learn about volunteer opportunities, visit our Volunteer page. You can sign-up to volunteer online using our guestbook.

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Thank You From ThyCa!

We believe that no one should have to be alone when facing thyroid cancer.

Our free support services are offered with this as our main goal.

We thank everyone for giving your time and talents to making possible our free services, publications, and events.

We’re grateful to you for reaching out to others worldwide, to help connect them with ThyCa’s many free support services and educational resources.

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You’re Invited To These Upcoming Thyroid Cancer Events!

  • Thyroid Cancer Support Group Meetings in Your Community
  • Free One-Day Regional Workshops.
    • Stanford, California on Saturday, July 25, 2009
    • in addition to workshops already held this spring
  • September is Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month, sponsored by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. Get free awareness materials year-round from ThyCa.
  • The 12th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference
    October 16-18, 2009
    Boston, Massachusetts
    Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel in Danvers
    Sponsored by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc.

Visit our website for details. Download the conference flyer and help spread the word.

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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 secure donation online in support of ThyCa’s work (or you are welcome to donate by mail), so click here to give.

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Ask ThyCa

If you have questions about thyroid cancer, please send them to thyca@thyca.org and we’ll answer your question in an upcoming newsletter as well as adding to our web site content.

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Tell ThyCa

If you have a story or anecdote about your thyroid cancer journey that you would like to share, please send it to thyca@thyca.org and we’ll do our best to include it in an upcoming newsletter as well as adding to our web site content.

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About ThyCa NEWS NOTES
Copyright (c) 2009 ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc.

Thank you to our writing, editing, and proofreading team for this issue of the newsletter: Leah Guljord, Pat Paillard, Linda Reardon, Cherry Wunderlich, and Gary Bloom.

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

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

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.

We are dedicated to support, education, and communication for thyroid cancer survivors, their families and friends, as well as to public awareness for early detection, treatment, and lifetime health monitoring, and to thyroid cancer research fundraising and research grants.

Contact us for free awareness materials and information about our free services and special events. E-mail thyca@thyca.org, call 1-877-588-7904, fax 1-630-604-6078, write PO Box 1102, Olney, MD 20830-1102, or visit our website.