Recognize Thyroid Cancer As A Public Healthcare Issue

We the undersigned  seek to raise awareness and lobby for public funding for community health education and public service announcements  for Thyroid Cancer which is one of the few cancers in America  that is increasing in the number of newly diagnosed  cases each year amongst the 15 to 35 year old population yet there is very little public knowledge about signs, symptons and risk factors.  We assert the following:

Primary care providers and public health officials must become better  educated on rising thyroid  health and thyroid cancer  emerging stats and trends as part of their continuing education requirements.

The general public must be made aware of the signs, symptoms, risks factors and misconceptions of thyroid disease and thyroid cancer as well as the long term healthcare needs of patients with compromised or no thyroid function.

Generalized assumptions cannot continue to be set forth as a given for all patients. There  are several types of thyroid cancer: papillary, follicular, medullary, anaplastic and variants.

Parents and physicians alike must become active advocates for the younger patients as thyroid nodules in young people (generally those under age 60) are more likely to be malignant or become malignant over time.

Treatment and prognosis  depends on the type of thyroid cancer, tumor size or cancer "stage", age of the patient upon "discovery" and diagnosis, and other factors individual factors.   It is not a clear cut path and may include surgery, radioactive iodine therapy, chemotherapy, external beam radiation therapy and  hormone replacement therapy. 

Signs to discuss with your doctor include: lump in your neck/throat, lymph node swelling, fullness in the neck, voice changes, difficulty breathing/obstructive sleep apnea, difficulty swallowing, or pain in the neck or throat.

Thyroid cancer affects women three times more than men and occurs in all age groups. However, in the past 5 years an increasing overwhelming number of young people ages 15 to 35 are being diagnosed.

Many of these youngsters are beign misdiagnosed at onset  or diagnosed at progressive stages of disease making their prognosis, treatment and recovery challenging. 

Thyroid cancer can sometimes reappear decades after the initial treatment.  Because of this patients must have follow-up tests throughout their lifetime, so that any recurrence can be treated properly, therefore insurance companies should be compelled to provide resonable coverage without delay for diagnostic testing of survivors.

Healthcare providers must include a through neck check and thyroid function test annually for all patients in high risk populations and always before dismissing patients seemingly unrelated health concerns as psychosomatic with the understanding that thyroid dysfunction may be an early warning sign for young people. 

We alll know and recognize the importance of mammography, pap smears, colonoscopy and prostrate examinations as early detection tools that save lives. 

Early Detection and Annual Screening Initiatives  must be mandated as a matter of  Public Health and Safety in America today.  

Thyroid Cancer Awareness and Education initiatives must be assumed by our public health departments in order to save lives.

Join our petition and help us reach out to our elected officials to help preserve quality of  live for patients and survivors.