Two Facts I wish I knew when I was Just diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer.
Posted: March 29, 2016
January 2016. It was curious that my endocrinologist, Dr. Amad, ordered a PET scan. Biopsy is a scary word the first time around, but not the second. Dr Amad took a couple of biopsies of lymph nodes in my neck. He said these could possibly explain the rise in my Thyroglobulin, but he wasn’t convinced. My Dr. referred me to Dr. Amad two years ago, when I was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He ordered the PET scan. I asked why. His response chilled me: “Because I can’t look at your lungs with a sonogram.”
Fact 1. Being diagnosed with thyroid cancer actually puts you at higher risk for other cancer.
I didn’t ask, “Why do you want to look at my lungs?” The answer was obvious. One cancer diagnosis didn’t mean I couldn’t have another. Can thyroid cancer spread to the lungs? I learned a thyroid cancer diagnosis actually puts you at a 33% higher risk for other cancers. The PET scan revealed a 2 cm nodule nestled between my trachea, lung, and a major artery. I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in 2014. I could still have undiagnosed follicular thyroid cancer, which spreads to the lungs. Three different doctors recommended surgery to remove the mass.
Fact 2. Food for thought on holistic cancer treatment: Studies show that eating a diet consisting of 20% animal protein contributes to cancer growth.
March 2016. While preparing for surgery, I came across some food for thought on holistic cancer treatment, The China Study. An experiment was originally conducted in 1968 by a pair of Indian scientists, TV Madhavan, & C. Gopalan: The effect of dietary protein on carcinogenesis of aflatoxin. Campbell built on their original experiment, replicating their results. Campbell showed that a 20% protein diet promotes cancer growth while a 5% protein diet shut it down. Campbell went on on to participate as a member of the China Study team. Praise for The China Study is impressive:
“The China Study describes a monumental survey of diet and death rates from cancer in more than 2,400 Chinese counties and the equally monumental efforts to explore its significance and implications for nutrition and health.”~ Frank Rhodes, PhD President Emeritus, Cornell University.
The China Study is the most convincing evidence yet on preventing heart disease, cancer, and other Western diseases by dietary means. ~ Junshi Chen MD, PhD Senior Research Professor, Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety – Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The China Study is a well-documented analysis of the fallacies of the modern diet, lifestyle and medicine and the quick fix approach that often fails. The lessons from China provide compelling rationale for a plant based diet to promote health and reduce the risk of the diseases of affluence. ~ Sushma Palmer, PhD Former Executive Director, Food & Nutrition Board – U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
This research gives me food for thought. There is complexity to eating that extends beyond nutrition. I don’t pretend to understand that complexity. There is a social side, illustrated by this quote from Samuel L Jackson: “How can I trust a man who won’t eat a good old-fashioned American hotdog?” There is a emotional side. We use food as a drug. We use foods to treat ourselves; we treat ourselves to ice cream. Thoracic surgery provided me some clarity, I don’t want to do that again. For now, I’ll have that hotdog, but I don’t need one every day. I bought The China Study. I’m reading it now.