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You go to the doctor for a routine check-up. You’ve been having some minor complications such as irritability and mood changes. You go in, the doctor runs some tests and then finds out that you have a tumor on your thyroid and the reason for the irritability is because the levels of hormones being released to help with the control of metabolism is fluctuating. So, you have either a hypothyroid or a hyperthyroid. The doctor says to you, “we need to operate and remove the lobe of the thyroid that has the tumor.”

You sit there for a second, though, and say to yourself, “how do I afford this?” You’re left with a few options. You can open your wallet and hope to God after mortgaging your house and selling your cars that you can afford it. Or…You can get Individual Health Insurance. What this insurance is insurance you pay for yourself. Individual Health Insurance is actually becoming a big deal, especially with the economy the way that it is. Companies can’t afford to pay for it, so you’re stuck the burden.

Having a thyroid problem is not the end of the world if you can afford to treat it. If you can’t, it can quickly become an issue. Even if it’s not cancer, but hypo or hyperthyroidism, what you find yourself having is the need for a constant flow of prescription drugs that you can’t afford with insurance. Individual health insurance gives you the opportunity to afford those necessary pills…And the necessary treatments, whatever they may be.

Oprah Winfrey has announced that she has gained 40 pounds since her 1997 diagnosis of thyroid disease, and now weighs 200 pounds. Mary Shomon, nationally known thyroid patient advocate says that Oprah -- like millions of other American women struggling with thyroid and weight problems - doesn't need to face such an uphill battle.

[Identification of the recurrent laryngeal nerve and parathyroids in thyroid surgery.]
Chirurg. 2008 Dec 11;
Authors: Dralle H,

Heuristics describe the multiple small steps required for successful surgery, which are often taken for granted, enabling key manoeuvres, their correct order and their timely performance.

(Source: ANZ Journal of Surgery) MedWorm Message: Find out how you can get your message across here by sponsoring this MedWorm news feed.

Authors: Schmidt M, Huff W, Dietlein M, Kobe C, Schicha H

Conclusions: Two groups of papillary thyroid microcarcinomas characterized by different clinical and biological behaviours are identified. Significant differences were found between these groups concerning the age, tumor size, number of tumor foci, lymph nodes metastases and extrathyroidal extension of the tumor. Papillary thyroid carcinomas with size less than or equal to 10mm may have aggressive behaviour or be metastatic, and this subgroup should be treated and followed up as are other large, differentiated thyroid cancers. (Source: BioMed Central)

We report a case of papillary carcinoma in struma ovarii in a 27-year-old lady
who was admitted with an acute pain in the abdomen. She underwent laparoscopic cystectomy, followed by laparoscopic unilateral
salpingo-oophorectomy, total thyroidectomy, and iodine-131 treatment on confirmation of the diagnosis of papillary carcinoma
in struma ovarii. Malignancy in struma ovarii can be managed satisfactorily with a combination of surgery and treatment options
currently available for primary thyroid cancer. Papillary variant has a more favourable prognosis than its follicular counterpart.

Conclusions: The study identifies pendrin as a novel autoantigen recognized by patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases, and proposes the use of pendrin antibodies as an accurate diagnostic tool.
PMID: 19050049 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism) MedWorm Message: Find out how you can get your message across here by sponsoring this MedWorm news feed.

[Medullary thyroid cancer - the present state of art.]
Endokrynol Pol. 2008;59(5):446-456
Authors: Krysiak R, Marek B, Okopień B