Kevin was diagnosed with thyroid cancer earlier this year, he decided to take up boxing to ‘take his mind of things’, keep fit and to fundraise for BTCT.  Well done Kevin!

Thyroid surgery is an increasingly specialised field. Since October 2013, outcomes of thyroid surgery, performed by those specialists who are members of the British Association of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgeons (BAETS), have been openly available for public viewing.

The figures confirm the very safe nature of thyroid surgery in expert hands and allow some insight into the number of thyroid operations each surgeon is performing, and their individual results. Currently, results are not available for all UK thyroid surgeons: only those who are BAETS members and who have submitted their own data to theBAETS National Audit.

Upgrades of the published results are planned for October 2014, with improvements in the search facility and simplification of certain graphs. The BAETS is keen to receive feedback on the usefulness of the published results.

Butterfly is delighted to be a named contributor to the new UK guidelines on Thyroid Cancer from the British Thyroid Association

NATT was launched in 2013. The project offers patients with this diagnosis a rare opportunity to participate in research. By collecting tissue and blood samples along with clinical information from across the UK we will be able to gather a significant amount of data which will help us make progress with research in to this difficult to treat disease.

We hope to learn more about why and how this type of cancer develops so that we can then develop new ways to treat it. This is going to be a long term project which will need to run over a number of years.

Patients who are interested in taking part will be asked to provide their consent for their already collected tissue samples (eg thyroid gland biopsy) to be donated to NATT. They will also have the option to donate a small blood sample and to have their clinical data collected.

This will be stored securely and confidentially and will only be accessible by your own doctor and the study’s Chief Investigator.

If you would like to find out more about NATT, please contact the Chief Investigator via email Dr Laura Moss or tel: 029 2031 6205.

Butterfly’s Patron, Hon President and Founder/Director published in the New England Journal of Medicine: Ablation with Low-Dose Radioiodine and Thyrotropin Alfa in Thyroid Cancer [opens in a new window]

Make a nomination

Katherine Crawley was the first patient to be supported by Butterfly and as such became known as the Butterfly Baby (more like Butterfly Babe really, she is sooo beautiful . . .).

She was also the first person that I was able to speak with who had Thyroid Cancer following my own diagnosis.

We helped each other, we have grown very close over the last eight years and I love her like a kid sister.

Katherine was only 26 when she was diagnosed and didn’t know that she had cancer until after she was admitted to the ward for her thyroidectomy.

She was given her diagnosis behind the bed curtains on an open ward.

When Katherine woke from her operation her younger brother Michael was sitting at her bedside, he was crying.

Michael and Katherine were very close, only 18 months between them. Michael was a huge support to Katherine following her diagnosis.

He loved life and like his sister lived it to the full. He was single, worked as an accountant, he loved to party and was passionate about travelling.

His outgoing personality led to him having many friends.

Sadly in February 2009 Michael died. He was 32. His death was unexpected and a huge shock to the family.

Michael was in the process of clearing his mortgage so he could give up his job and travel (and had done particularly well in doing this).

He had a ‘things to do’ list where he’d written, ‘Give up work’ and ‘Travel’. His next adventure was the Orient Express or something over the Himalayas and China.

He’d travelled fairly extensively already, lived in San Francisco when he was 19 and then his trip of a lifetime was in South America last year.

He’d visited Christ the Redeemer, Angel Falls, and Machu Picchu.

Despite their sadnessKatherine and her family were determined that something positive should come from this awful situation and asked that donations be sent to Butterfly.

It is testament to Michael’s popularity that donations were received from as far away as USA and to date have totalled an outstanding £2,000.

I asked my trustees if Butterfly could fund a much-needed break for a patient each year to the value of £500. They agreed unanimously.

I asked Michael’s family how they would feel about having the award named after Michael in view of their exceptional support and Michael’s love of travel.

They were delighted.

Heartfelt thanks go to Katherine and her family.

Kate Farnell

Nominations

Nominations for next year’s award can be made to the trustees at anytime. You can nominate yourself, your family or any deserving thyroid cancer patient.

Please say why you feel the award is deserved and how it would make a difference.

Butterfly had a stand at this year’s British Association of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgeons’ meeting which was held in Liverpool. More than 140 thyroid surgeons attended and all signed up for the Butterfly DVD which is excellent news!!!

Kate Farnell gave a presentation on the latest patient survey resultswhich was very well received. She received very kind excellent feedback from the surgeons.

We are getting the patient voice heard!

Dawn Golightly, Kate Farnell, Mary McGarry (Thyroid Cancer Support Ireland) and Helen Hobrough (Thyroid Cancer Support Group – Wales) at the shared Butterfly / Thyroid Cancer Alliance stand

Kate Farnell at the Butterfly stand

Kate Farnell and Helen Hobrough receiving congratulations from BAETS President, Mr David Scott-Coombes

Kate Farnell with Consultant Thyroid Surgeon, Mr Mark Lansdowne