Thyroid Cancer Overviews

Overviews are a great way to get a feel for what your diagnosis means for you and what you’re likely to face going forward. These overviews are easy to understand, even if you’re not good with medical terms.

Thyroid cancer (from MedlinePlus): We really like the MedlinePlus overviews for when you’re starting completely from scratch. They’re very basic, but that’s often a great place to start. This one includes a few pictures showing what & where the thyroid gland is as well as what a tumor looks like on CT scans. It also links to more information on the different kinds of thyroid cancer and some of the tests you might have.

Thyroid Cancer (American Cancer Society : This page links to answers to questions you might have, as well as to two guides the Society has published. The Overview Guide [http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/ThyroidCancer/OverviewGuide/index] is the simpler one, with basic information. It’s a good place to start if you don’t know too much yet. The Detailed Guide [http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/ThyroidCancer/DetailedGuide/index] has more information and is good for anyone who’s already got the basics down. You can also download the guides as PDFs.

Thyroid Cancer (Mayo Clinic): This overview includes questions you may want to ask your doctor about your treatment options and prognosis.

Organizations Devoted to Thyroid Cancer

Several organizations exist to help thyroid cancer patients and their loved ones find the information and support they need. See if the offerings from any of these are a good fit for your needs.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Surivors’ Association, Inc.: This non-profit organization was begun by thyroid cancer survivors to help others fighting the same disease. The website has a wealth of information about thyroid cancer in general, as well as specific types of thyroid cancer. Some of the information is available as downloadable handbooks. There’s a “For the Newly Diagnosed” page with a lot of valuable information and links. It also offers several support options (more detail on these in the Support section). And there’s a list of links to more thyroid resources, for when you’re ready to dig more deeply into the topic.

Light of Life Foundation: Another non-profit started by a thyroid cancer survivor to promote research and education to help improve the lives of other thyroid cancer patients. The website includes a thyroid cancer Q&A page and a low-iodine cookbook.

American Thyroid Association: Technically the ATA is dedicated to research, treatment and prevention of all thyroid diseases. This includes thyroid cancer, of course. The Patients & The Public section includes information on thyroid diseases and a publication—Clinical Thyroidology for the Public—that summarizes in easier-to-understand language some of the studies from the Association’s official publication for professionals.

Research into Thyroid Cancer

Are you interested in reading about recent research results from thyroid cancer studies? Or maybe you’d like to be part of a current clinical trial. Check out these resources to see what’s relevant to your situation.

A Snapshot of Thyroid Cancer: This page, from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), links to some of the research NCI has been involved with. Some of it is ongoing work and other links are to results of recent studies.

ClinicalTrials.gov Thyroid cancer trials: This is a list of studies looking for people to participate. It’s the result of a general search on “thyroid cancer.” You can narrow this result down by location, age and other filters. Or you could try doing your own search on your specific kind of thyroid cancer, which may show a smaller list.

Thyroid Cancer Clinical Trials (CenterWatch): CenterWatch lists industry studies looking for patients by state.

Thyroid cancer Clinical Trials on NCI: The NCI also has a searchable database of clinical trials. This results list is for a search on thyroid cancer without any other criteria. If you click the “Refine Search” button you can limit the results by things like type of thyroid cancer, trial type or phase and others.

The various lists will probably overlap quite a bit, but it you’d really like to find a trial suitable for you, it could be worth checking them all. Of course, you’ll still want to discuss any that you find with your doctor to be sure they’re right for you.

Forums and Support Groups for Thyroid Cancer

Getting support from loved ones and others who understand what you’re going through can help you feel less alone and more hopeful. Although family and friends often provide most support, sometimes you also need to connect with others who are or have gone through the same thing.

That’s where support groups come in. Take a look at some of these and see if they’re a good fit for you.

Support Groups from ThyCa: This page lists the local support groups affiliated with ThyCa. Many have regular in-person meetings; others are only phone/email support. ThyCa also has an online community at Inspire.com that looks quite active. Its email support groups operate through Yahoo! Groups. And its Person-to-Person network matches you with another person experienced with your same diagnosis (as much as possible) for one-on-one support.

Light of Life Thyroid Cancer Survivors Facebook group: This closed group lets you share your experiences, worries, etc. with others who understand. Because the group is closed, only other members can see what you post.

Thyroid Cancer support from CancerCare: This organization offers free support services, including counseling from an oncology social worker and online support groups. It looks like they don’t currently have a group specific to thyroid cancer, but there is a general cancer group. You may also qualify for financial assistance.

There are other support resources for people with cancer in general. We list those on our Resources for Cancer Patients page.

Other Resources for Thyroid Cancer

You might find these helpful, too.

Find an Endocrinologist: This searchable database from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists lets you find a specialist near you.

Hormone Health Network physician referral directory: Another option for finding a specialist. Doctors in this database are members of The Endocrine Society.

Information For Kids About Thyroid Cancer

Cancer can be a hard topic for anyone to understand. If you have children, you may be wondering how much to tell them about your diagnosis.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to that question, but we have collected some resources to help parents have that conversation on our Cancer Resources for Kids & Teens page. They are not specific to thyroid cancer, but can help with discussing any cancer diagnosis.

The page also lists resources aimed directly at children. There are websites with explanations written in kid-friendly language, organizations that offer camps and other support groups and online support communities just for kids. Consider reviewing a few to see if any are appropriate for your child(ren).

Caregiver Resources

Caregivers need support too. It’s really not possible (or healthy) to try to do it all alone. Although it can sometimes be harder to find support and advice for caregivers than for patients, help does exist.

One of the email support groups from ThyCa is just for caregivers. The organization also has a Support for Caregivers page with more advice.

There are many other support options not specific to thyroid cancer caregivers. We’ve collected some on our Cancer Caregivers Resources page.