DEAR THYROID^TM

Originally, as you know, I created Dear Thyroid because I was curious to know if other folks wanted to write love and hate letters to their thyroids. Turns out, I wasn’t alone; and a trademarked brand was born. As we’ve grown and with each story, two things have occurred:

• It is ABSOLUTELY PARAMOUNT to me that every person has an opportunity to give voice to their thyroid story. Your stories not only shape the voice of Dear Thyroid, they are expressions of the harrowing realities of thyroid diseases and cancers. And, as a result, they forge NEW GROUND for creating AWARENESS. Did you know that? If you don’t or didn’t, please know it and own it.
• With each story, I became a more educated patient about the gritty, ugly truth of our respective diseases and the catastrophic impact to our lives and our friends, and families lives. Off I went to research, to understand what kind of funding was out there for thyroid diseases and cancers, for better treatment, a cure and financial assistance. When I found nothing, I was disgusted and appalled, which spurned a burning passion to be part of the movement that seeks to improve the lives of all thyroid patients. We are all part of that movement, each and every one of us. So, when you hear me say “It’s not about me, it’s about we”, I MEAN THAT FROM THE RECESSES of my WOMB. I can’t do it alone; none of us can. All thyroid communities, patients and advocates must unite.

As Dear Thyroid continued to evolve, so did our goals, products and objectives. We added columnists, and will continue to add new columnists, thyroid patients and/or patients with chronic conditions and cancers. We are a patient perspective website. We’ve added guest bloggers, folks that are a wealth of information, that speak to OUR DISEASES AND CANCERS. We have a slew of literary contests, T-shirts, Awareness bands, community outreach for offline support and so much more. We do this to ensure that WE KEEP WRITING about and to our diseases, as well as furthering our collective awareness objectives.

So, yes, I am very protective of each community member and of this brand, and for all of the right reasons (mentioned above). We’re all on the same page. We all want the same thing: Awareness, understanding, compassion, funding, education, resources, better treatment and a cure. This is what we are fighting for, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US.

If you ever wonder what my intentions are, read this, this or this, and you’ll know.

—

No Sex, No Breathing, No Life, And I Have You To Thank For It, Thyroid – Happy?!, written by Faith, a tragically honest and brief portrayal of how thyroid disease has impacted her life.

Excerpt: “Oh, now you have hearing door slams and people talking that are not even there. Why did you choose me to suffer or be happy? Other than that, please let us work as a team, not one against the other. I hope you good day with me…”

Comment of the day…

Marie says:

Hey Faith…

Such a relief to read your letter. My thyroid is underactive and I have all the same symptoms as you. The low sex drive is as bad as the exhaustion for me as I have to deal with being a “bad wife” as well. My husband is incredibly supportive and would never say that or think that but its how I myself feel. Its hard going through life looking “well” when all you want to do is curl up and sleep. It will get better with help as mine is. Its a slow process but we will get there x

We Need to Chat About Perimenopause and Menopause, another fantastic and IMPORTANT installation from Dr. Gottfried. If you haven’t read it, please do. This is info we very much need.

Excerpt: “Perimenopause: there is never a more important time to follow some of the values we’ve discussed previously, such as the free T3/reverse T3 ratio (fT3/rT3). Go easy on yourselves and start a program to heal your adrenals along with your thyroid.”

Comment of the day…

Shan McKenzie says:

I’m 52 and have just recently gone from a light to heavy monthly. I read somewhere that this happens if you don’t ovulate. My elder sister had periods till her very late 50’s. The best I can think to do is to eat well, take it easy until I recover each time, and take some extra iron.

–NEWS AND UPDATES—

We are launching a very exciting new page, which we will reveal in the next couple of days and another literary contest! Yay.

Have you signed up for the Dear Thyroid Thyroid Cancer blog tour for September or shared it with your friends? If not, please do! We want as many people to spread awareness for thyroid cancer as possible. Let our voices be loud and proud. For any questions, please email Joanna.

Have you sent Joanna your name for the Survivorship Roll Call and/or shared it with other survivors? If not, please do. September is thyroid cancer awareness month. We need to rally and make sure that everyone knows WHO WE ARE and how serious thyroid cancer is.

Tags: Comment of the Day, community building, Dear Thyroid, graves disease support, hashimoto's disease support, Health Community, health support community, hyperthyroid support, hypothyroid support, literary community, literary support, thyroid cancer support, thyroid community, thyroid literary community, thyroid support community

Follow Dear Thyroid on Twitter/@DearThyroid | See our Facebook Page | Become a Fan on Facebook | Join our Facebook Group

You Can Create a Dear Thyroid Profile and share with friends!