In this episode, Jessie talks with Carmen, who has been through 3 surgeries related to her thyroid cancer diagnosis. She talks about her experience of having to self-advocate in order to get diagnosed (with papillary and follicular thyroid cancer) and then experiencing lymphedema and nerve damage from surgery. She talks about the improvement she has been feeling after her most recent corrective surgery and what she found helpful throughout the process. Carmen talks about asking for help from others, questions she found helpful to ask her doctor, and focusing on life beyond her thyroid. Carmen and Jessie also discuss some tips they found helpful related to surgery, such as eating soft foods after, massaging the scar (if possible), and asking questions after surgery.

Everyone's experience with surgery is different, so be sure to consult your care team about specifics for you!
For support groups (local or online), please visit: https://www.thyca.org/sg/

Please note: This podcast is unedited and represents the opinions, experiences and views of those speaking. Please consult your own medical doctor(s) or therapist for all matters involving your health and medical care.

Happy thyroid cancer awareness month! Becky Johnson and Daria Jerauld join Jessie for this episode where they discuss the low iodine diet (LID) and radioactive iodine treatment (RAI). Becky and Daria lead a LID support group through ThyCa and discuss resources they recommend such as the LID cookbook. Becky and Daria provide an overview of LID, numerous tips around how to navigate the LID period, and discuss their experiences with RAI. Daria went through RAI in 1996, Becky in 2010 and Jessie in 2021 so they share their various experiences with the treatment.

Links to resources discussed in the podcast episode:
-LID cookbook/app: https://www.thyca.org/pap-fol/lowiodinediet/
-LID support groups: https://www.thyca.org/sg/sig-lid/
-ThyCa conference (Oct 13-15 2023): https://thyca.org/support/conferences/

Please note: This podcast is unedited and represents the opinions, experiences and views of those speaking. Please consult your own medical doctor(s) or therapist for all matters involving your health and medical care.

Listen in to Thomas's story this month, as he shares about being diagnosed with stage 4C medullary thyroid cancer in 2020 after having not been to the doctor in about 6 years. He shares about the difficult process of diagnosis, along with being told that he has metastasis in his spine/hips and that he has the HRAS mutation (which doctors have told him impact the ability for them to treat him). He is honest about continuing to have difficult emotional days, but has also found ways to cope with his diagnosis (he shares about finding others diagnosed with MTC, his support system, and cycling). He has plans to cycle across every US state before he dies, we are cheering for you Thomas!
**Please be aware that Thomas shares in this episode about getting a bone biopsy without sedation (minutes 13:34-15:50).

Please note: This podcast is unedited and represents the opinions, experiences and views of those speaking. Please consult your own medical doctor(s) or therapist for all matters involving your health and medical care.