The 'Good' Cancer

Here we go again. Another Hollywood star with cancer. Let the myths and hype begin.


First we have CNN talking about five things you need to know about thyroid cancer:

1. Thyroid cancer strikes more women than men. We can't dispute that one.
2. Its a young person diseases - striking more and more under 55 - but actually becoming more common in teens and twenties.
3. Its not an obvious cancer. It can go undetected for a long time. But since its slow growing, late detection is not necessarily fatal.
4. There are more than twice as many cases as there were 30 years ago.
5. It has a high survival rate so its a 'good' cancer.

Thats a nice little recap. But it doesn't begin to tell the story.

Yahoo says that Brooke Burke has a 'good' cancer as well. and they go on to add:

"The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of the neck, just under your Adam’s apple. It’s responsible for producing hormones that do a variety of functions in the body including regulate blood pressure, body temperature, and weight."

So now blood pressure, body temperature, and weight become much harder to control without your 'dear little thyroid' or DLT. Now add to that the fact that it can recur 30-45 years later and requires a lifetime of vigilance.

After removal of the DLT, there are some people:

• who never can balance their thyroid levels and have to have constant testing and retesting to see if they can keep it under control
• who experience of life time of complications

Any one, including a doctor, who tries to tell me that it was a good cancer, seriously has no clue.