Support through thyroid cancer

In this episode, Jessie talks with Carmen, who has been through 3 surgeries related to her thyroid cancer diagnosis. She talks about her experience of having to self-advocate in order to get diagnosed (with papillary and follicular thyroid cancer) and then experiencing lymphedema and nerve damage from surgery. She talks about the improvement she has been feeling after her most recent corrective su...

Happy thyroid cancer awareness month! Becky Johnson and Daria Jerauld join Jessie for this episode where they discuss the low iodine diet (LID) and radioactive iodine treatment (RAI). Becky and Daria lead a LID support group through ThyCa and discuss resources they recommend such as the LID cookbook. Becky and Daria provide an overview of LID,  numerous tips around how to navigate the LID period,...

Listen in to Thomas's story this month, as he shares about being diagnosed with stage 4C medullary thyroid cancer in 2020 after having not been to the doctor in about 6 years. He shares about the difficult process of diagnosis, along with being told that he has metastasis in his spine/hips and that he has the HRAS mutation (which doctors have told him impact the ability for them to treat him)...

Maya, who happens to be the medical provider who discovered Jessie's cancer, joins Jessie for this episode. Maya shares about her story of being diagnosed with thyroid cancer over 8 years ago shortly after giving birth to her second child. She talks about the grief her family experienced with her cancer diagnosis coming only 2 years after her husband's diagnosis with his own cancer, coup...

Join Jessie and Helga for this episode as Helga tells her story of being diagnosed with papillary and tall cell thyroid cancer 6 years ago. Helga is an engineer and cyclist with a sense of humor and a love for storytelling. She talks about some of the bumps in her road of experiences with muscle weakness for several months after RAI and difficulty with bone healing after a bike crash (which her do...

In this episode, Brittany shares her story about being diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer at age 13 after losing her voice and then going through a full thyroidectomy followed by 2 additional surgeries for an implant to create a functioning voice for her. She shares about what it felt like to be given this diagnosis at such a young age for both her and her parents, with the added challenge of...

Julie joins me for this episode talking about her journey to diagnosis of PDTC (Poorly Differentiated Thyroid Cancer) around the time of COVID shutdown. She talks about how scared her and her husband felt when they first found out, all the questions they had, and how alone they felt because they didn't know anyone else with PDTC. Julie is now a facilitator for the PDTC support group through T...

Klaudia joins me for this podcast, sharing about her recent fight with papillary thyroid cancer. She talks about how as an immigrant and foreign service officer (which involves frequent moves), she has struggled to maintain a solid support system. She discusses her experience with the culture within the U.S. medical system and wishing there was more transparency/direct communication about diagnosi...

In this episode Gary Bloom (executive director of ThyCa) shares his experience of being diagnosed with thyroid cancer 27 years ago, when treatment for the disease looked very different than it does now. Having initially been diagnosed with sleep apnea, the road to diagnosis took some time and then the treatment for his cancer took about 3 years. He shares about the difficult experience of having t...

In this episode, Bill tells his story of being diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer and being unsure if he would survive. He talks about his emotional experience of this diagnosis, what he has found supportive, and how his life changed during this journey so far. Bill also explores sources of hope and acceptance while living with medullary thyroid cancer. Please note: This podcast represents th...

In this episode, Jodi tells the story of her long process of diagnosis of papillary thyroid cancer following many years of experiencing migraines and low energy. She reflects on her childhood experience of hearing about her father's cancer diagnosis and how this affected her decision making about how/whether to tell her son about her own cancer diagnosis. Jodi talks about how she feels now th...

Join Jessie as she hears from Becky, a papillary thyroid cancer survivor who has been cancer free for 11years. As the local ThyCa support group leader and ThyCa volunteer, Becky has wisdom to share not only from her own experience, but also her experience providing support to others in their cancer journey for the past 10 years. Becky shares about how doing your own research can be empowering, how...

Host Jessie is joined by one of her best friends Ginger as Jessie shares her own story of diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer. The two friends explore emotional experiences around diagnosis and treatment, the impact of thyroid hormones on mood/anxiety,  trusting your own body intuition, and ways Jessie felt supported. Resources shared in the episode: -Headspace app-"Coping with cancer&q...

Celia shares her story of how she didn't know she had thyroid cancer until after surgery and what this means for her now. Celia reflects on the complexity and interconnectedness of mental health, thyroid hormones, and life events. She provides some suggestions for questions to ask providers when diagnosis is not clear ("What could this be?" "What are the ways this is treated?&q...