Thyroid Cancer Survivors Plan 3rd Annual Conference
25 May 2000

CONFERENCE DETAILS
Event 3rd Annual Thyroid CAncer Survivors' Conference
The ONLY conference in the world for survivors of this rare cancer.
Name ThyCa 2000
Dates 8-10 September 2000
Place National 4-H Conference Center, Chevy Chase, MD
7100 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Case, MD 20815
Cost $40 per person for nonmembers; $35 per person for members; $30 for lifetime members
Organized by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc.
Web site <www.thyca.org>
Media Contact Ric Blake : <Rblake@thyca.org>
Address ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc.
PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545
Toll Free Survivors' Information Number: 877-588-7904

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
From September 8-10, thyroid cancer survivors from across the United States and Canada will meet in Chevy Chase, Maryland, for the world's third annual meeting for the survivors of this rare cancer. The conference is organized by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to survivors' issues. Sponsors include the American Cancer Society, Knoll Pharmaceuticals and Genzyme Company.

The cost is only $35 for members of ThyCa, $40 for nonmembers.. Survivors may register online at ThyCa's web page at <www.thyca.org>, by e-mail at <conference@thyca.org> or by writing to ThyCa 2000 Conference Registration, PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545 until August 1,
1999..

This an informal, nuts 'n bolts conference where survivors will have a chance to talk face-to-face with other survivors and with leading thyroid cancer
specialists in small, intimate group settings. For many, this will be the first time since their diagnosis they have met someone else with this cancer. This is not a disease that effects large numbers as does breast and prostate cancer. In the United States, fewer than 16,000 are diagnosed with thyroid cancer annually. Of the estimated 200,000 survivors in the United States, fewer than 1,500 will die of the disease this year.

Professional facilitators include leading physicians and other health care professionals from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Johns Hopkins
University, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, National Institutes of Health, North Shore
University Hospital, University of Kentucky, Washington Hospital Center and Washington University at St. Louis.

Workshop topics include: Future Trends In Thyroid Cancer Care, Self-care for Comfort and Well Being, Support During the First Year After Diagnosis, Tests and What They Mean, Treatment and Follow-up, Managing the Low Iodine Diet. Special sessions will include: Ask A Doctor and Ask A Pharmacist. Throughout the three day international conference, volunteers will be available in a special research room with Internet access to help participants learn to use the Internet to research medical issues.

Conference organizers are committed to help other survivors because thyroid cancer is a disease that impacts everyone from the time of diagnosis for the rest of their lives. They must learn to cope with a strict regimen of daily medications plus the impact of periodic tests and treatments that can significantly affect the quality of their lives. ThyCa's annual international conference is only one of the resources the newly incorporated non-profit volunteer organization has created to help survivors around the world.

"Talking with other survivors and learning from their experience," says Gary Bloom of Olney, MD, Chair of the ThyCa Board of Directors and Facilitator of the Washington, DC ThyCa Support Group, "is an important part of living with this disease. Until 1997, when a group of survivors began to build a worldwide network of free services for survivors, we lived in complete isolation. Now we have four mailing lists, a weekly chat room on the Internet dedicated to survivors' issues and a newly formed Survivors' Information Help Line. Our award winning web site at <www.thyca.org> has guidelines for radiation and other treatments and receives more than 40,000 visitors each month. Now, within a few minutes, someone newly diagnosed can access information about their disease, learn about treatment options and find links to the best medical information in the world."

Conference details are available on ThyCa's web site at <www.thyca.org>, by mail at ThyCa 2000, PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545 and through the ThyCa Survivors' Toll-Free Telephone Service (877-588-7904). Queries may also be sent by e-mail to <conference@thyca.org>.

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