F*cking Chuck Norris.
Ok, you probably didn't know that. I certainly wouldn't have if I hadn't had the summer that I had.
So, in celebration of Thyroid Cancer Awareness month, I thought I'd put together a list of helpful links & resources that I found during my time with ThyCa that could help the potential internet traveler that comes across my blog in search of answers. (Note: ThyCa is what the cool people call Thyroid Cancer).
Here's my list of links, with my little blurbs or reviews on them.
Thyroid Cancer Survivors Association - http://www.thyca.org/
This is pretty much considered the official site for ThyCa. My nuclear medicine doctor even pointed me to this site when he was prescribing the Low Iodine Diet to me. They have an international network with local support groups, and tons of resources that you can download for free (like the Low Iodine Cookbook). Definitely a good starting place for the basic information, laid out very simply.
Thyroid Cancer Canada - http://www.thyroidcancercanada.org/
Same as above, but if love hockey. Lots of helpful information here though, you just need to ignore the Canadian-specific stuff and you'll be good. I found their newsletter material to be a good place to get good information too (http://www.thyroidcancercanada.org/thry-vors-news-(seasonal-newsletter).php)
Revised American Thyroid Association Management Guidelines for Patients with Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer - http://www.thyca.org/download/document/409/DTCguidelines.pdf
This is the big one. Yeah, it's 48 pages written in medical journal jargon, but this is the place to go if you want the current definitive guidelines on what the accepted steps are toward finding and diagnosing thyroid nodules, how to treat them should they be cancerous, and how to treat them post-surgery. Searching websites is fine, but ATA guides like this are pretty much the law of the land in the medical field, until newer guidelines are published. This link is to the most recent published guidelines (2009), but word on the street is that newer guidelines are closer to being published. Most people believe that the newer guidelines will reduce the use of radioactive iodine and say that surgery is sufficient treatment for thyroid cancer, but it is all speculation until the ATA publishes something.
Update (10/16/15): The new 2015 guidelines have been published! The link above should take you to the latest version...all 411 pages of it.
National Institute of Health Low Iodine Diet Guidelines - http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/patient_education/pepubs/lo_io_diet.pdf
In addition to the ThyCa.org linka bove, this was a very good place to start if you're going on the LID. This was the most recent version of the guidelines I could find (published January 2014); an older version gets linked to a lot, but this is the latest and greatest I could find.
Inspire is a message board for people with different types of cancer, where they can share stores, swap advice, etc. I did find this pretty helpful, but it is absolutely important to take things here with a grain of salt, for two reason: 1) These are patients that are posting here, not doctors, so the more medical and scientific the advice, the more you need to be careful, and 2) Being on these boards can paint a very bleak picture of ThyCa sometimes. You have to keep in mind that people who had simple or uneventful experiences with ThyCa are less likely to spend their post-treatment time browsing message boards. They tend to be filled with people who are experience on-going complications with their treatment, which is why they're active on a board in the first place.
Thyroid Cancer Blog - http://thyroidcancerblog.com/
This blog was written by a guy who got diagnosed in 2009. He hasn't posted since 2013, but his blog is very good from an informational standpoint, almost like a reporter. He laid out the steps of his treatment very well, and I ended up writing my blog in a similar style. Very good and detailed read.
My Experience with Thyroid Cancer - http://caaaait.blogspot.com/
This was the other blog that I read from cover to cover in the leadup to my treatment. The girl who wrote this had more extensive spread than the blog above, and as a result still has little inoperable bits of cancer that remain to this day (but appear to be "dormant"). However, she wrote her blog from more of an internal/emotional perspective of going through multiple surgeries and her treatment, and her writing is now more focused on her post-treatment life and how she's changing her life for the better, regardless of what cancer might be left in her. I even exchanged e-mails with her to thank her for her writing, and she was very nice! An excellent read, I recommend even if you don't have ThyCa.
Blog for a Cure ThyCa - http://www.blogforacure.com/members.php?type=thyroid+cancer
This is a site that compiles several blogs, although many of them are not too active.
That's all the links I can think of for now...hopefully that helps you cut down on your Google use. :)
I see your true colors...shining through.
[Note: I may edit this post in the future to include other links as I think of / remember them.]
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