Worldwide Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month Highlights Neck Checks, Events, Free Support
09/2014FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Free Tools and Tips are Available on www.thyca.org
A new record total of 62,980 people will be diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2014 in the United States, reports the nonprofit ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. (“ThyCa”), sponsor of Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month. Thyroid cancer affects people of all ages, from children through seniors.
September is Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month worldwide, and survivors, caregivers, friends, and organizations everywhere will be urging everyone to “Find It Early” through neck checks throughout the month of September, reports ThyCa. Thyroid cancer is now the ninth most common cancer in the United States and continues to increase rapidly in both women and men. Three of every four people diagnosed with thyroid cancer are women.
Throughout the month of September, people in more than 100 countries around the world will participate in the annual international grassroots effort to:
- Raise awareness of the importance of early detection, treatment, and lifelong monitoring;
- Inform the public about thyroid cancer and free support services and educational events with experts, including the 17th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference on October 17-19, 2014, in Denver, Colorado;
- Increase awareness of the need for more thyroid cancer research, highlighted this year by a 5k Run for awareness and research funding, Andrew’s Thyroid Cancer Triathlon for His Daddy, more grassroots events, and ThyCa’s year-round Rally for Research campaign.
ThyCa initiated the annual awareness observance in 2000 and encourages people to ask for a neck check each time they visit their doctor.
“Signs to discuss with the physician include a lump or fullness in the neck, lymph node swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing, or voice changes,” says ThyCa Executive Director Gary Bloom, himself a thyroid cancer survivor. “These are signs of a possible thyroid nodule. Most thyroid nodules are benign, but some are cancer. Health care professionals are essential to the detection of thyroid cancer.”
ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 and advised by 47 thyroid cancer specialists, provides free support services, publications, and many more resources to thyroid cancer survivors and their families around the world. ThyCa currently serves people in 115 countries.
ThyCa provides free handbooks, patient information packets, a weekly bulletin and newsletter, 12 online support groups, and more than 110 local support groups in the United States, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Philippines, as well as free webinars, seminars, and regional workshops. Its web site (www.thyca.org) has more than 800 pages of thyroid cancer information, receives review from more than 50 thyroid cancer specialists, and provides free downloadable materials in English, Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish.
The annual International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference, also sponsored by ThyCa, will take place this year in Denver, Colorado, on October 17-19, 2014, with more than 100 sessions and more than 40 speakers. ThyCa also sponsors thyroid cancer research fundraising and has awarded research grants since 2003, open to researchers and institutions worldwide.
For free materials and information, call toll-free 877-588-7904, write to ThyCa at PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, e-mail to thyca@thyca.org, or visit the web site at www.thyca.org.
Contact: Cherry Wunderlich, 301-493-8810, cwunderlich@thyca.org,
Director of Publications and Outreach, ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc.
Founder and Sponsor of Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month