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WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOUR THYROID

COULD PUT YOU AT RISK

Dr. Paul Ladenson from Johns Hopkins and Thyroid Patient Kelly Ripken

Discuss What Thyroid Patients Should Know

News Background:

Thyroid disease affects nearly 1 out of 10 people - 27 million Americans – but half of them go undiagnosed because the symptoms of underactive and overactive thyroid – and thyroid cancer – are overlooked during the early stages of disease. 

The good news is that doctors have tests to diagnose these conditions when they are suspected, and treatments for them that are highly effective.  The potentially serious consequences of these conditions can be avoided if people take steps to maintain proper thyroid health:

·  Know your risk for thyroid diseases 

·  Recognize symptoms of thyroid problems

·  Consume the right amount of iodine in your diet

·  Ask your doctor if you need thyroid testing

Once diagnosed, thyroid medication can restore the delicate balance of thyroid hormones in a person’s body; but once diagnosed and treated, 2 out of every 5 thyroid patients are under or over-treated with thyroid medication. Thyroid patients must know what could interfere with their treatment:

·   Switching from the medication that their doctor has prescribed

·   Interfering medicines, minerals and foods

·   Life events, such as pregnancy, aging and weight change

·   Being unfaithful in taking their medication and having follow-up testing

Unless thyroid patients appreciate these factors, they face serious consequences, including osteoporosis and broken bones, irregular heart rhythm and stroke, high cholesterol and heart attack, complications for pregnant women and their babies—and for thyroid cancer patients, recurrence of their tumor. 

Who:

Dr. Paul Ladenson is the director of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and President of the American Thyroid Association.

Kelly Ripken is a thyroid patient and wife of baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr.; she is the director of the Kelly G. Ripken Program at Johns Hopkins, an education program for patients and families with thyroid concerns.

                Available to address:

• The risk factors for and symptoms of thyroid disease, and when to see a doctor
• The things patients taking thyroid medication should know in order to assure their treatment will be effective 
• The risks associated with suboptimal treatment, especially for pregnant women and patients with thyroid cancer (which is one of the few cancers increasing in incidence in recent years)

TO REQUEST A HARD COPY, CONTACT: Maria McCarthy/DMS at 212-727-1802.