Broadway Performer Says No to Thyroid Cancer Surgery → Surveillance Instead

Jody Gelb is a Broadway singer and actress.   Six months ago she was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer, during a doctor's visit for an unrelated issue.  This news sparked immediate research and discovering an alternate path that does not include surgery.

In this episode, the following topics are discussed:

• Broadway musical and tour
• Voice used during work as a performer, singing and acting
• Diagnosed with thyroid cancer while going to the doctor for a minor back strain
• MRI on back lead to discovery of thyroid nodules
• A scare, at one point being told cancer could be medullary
• BETHESDA scale
• Book by Dr. Gilbert Welch
• Incidental findings
• Watch and wait or active surveillance as an option to removing your thyroid
• Conflicting and inconsistent information from healthcare professionals to the patient
• Maximilaist or minimalist
• Cultivating a wherewithal to ask questions, even when being told something by a healthcare professional
• Dr. Atul Gawande
• Dr. Henry Marsh
• Choosing active surveillance and then feeling isolated or alienated
• Sharing selectively
• The importance of Google and Twitter and searching 'papillary thyroid cancer'

 

NOTES

Regarding Thyroid Cancer, Are You a Minimalist or a Maximalist? with Dr. Michael Tuttle from Sloan Kettering

Diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer and You Say No to Surgery with Dr. Louise Davies

Avoiding Thyroid Cancer Surgery, Depending on the Size with Dr. Miyauchi from Kuma Hospital in Kobe, Japan

1 in 3 People Die With Thyroid Cancer — Not From with Dr. Seth Landefeld from UAB

Rethinking Thyroid Cancer – When Saying No to Surgery Maybe Best for You with Dr. Allen Ho from Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles

American Thyroid Association

Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health

Best Time of Day to Take Your Thyroid Medication and Other Questions for the Endocrinologist with Wendy Sacks, M.D. from Cedars Sinai

Jody Gelb

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