Thyroid Cancer Screenings in Women Executives Finds Significant Abnormalities in 49% of Attendees at Woman’s Health Conference

Thyroid cancer surgeons at the Clayman Thyroid Center and Tampa’s new Hospital for Endocrine Surgery celebrated Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month by joining Tampa Bay Business & Wealth (TBBW) magazine to screen women executives for thyroid cancer using state of the art ultrasonography.

Thyroid cancer is the 4th most common cancer in women.

Thyroid cancer is the 4^th most common cancer in women. Thyroid cancer is the most quickly increasing cancer diagnosis in the United States and it affects women nearly three times as often as men. Despite this, screening for thyroid cancer is not performed anywhere in the world. Breast cancer screening, through mammography, has been routine for decades but, unfortunately, screening for thyroid cancer in the general population does not occur. The dramatic findings in these women aged 30 to 65 suggest that thyroid cancer screening, in select populations, should be done.

The Hospital for Endocrine Surgery’s thyroid surgeons teamed up with TBBW magazine for its annual Women’s Wellness Retreat, hosted in August at the Salamander Spa at Innisbrook Resort. The event brought together female executives from the Tampa Bay area for a day of networking, relaxing and, most importantly, self-care. The world-renowned ultrasound team from the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery performed free screening on over 70% of the women in attendance. Abnormal findings appeared in 49% of the ultrasounds.

Senior thyroid surgeon Dr. Rashmi Roy led the program and personally reviewed each woman’s scans, connecting with those who had significant or abnormal findings to discuss the specifics of their case and suggest next steps.

“These women had no previous history of thyroid masses, nodules, goiters or cancer,” stated Dr Roy. “So, this was a true screening program. We found 21 of the 43 women to have abnormal growths or cysts in their thyroid gland, 13 with scans suggested a more detailed workup and, possibly, biopsy was required and another 5 who were very likely to need surgery—possibly having thyroid cancer.”

In fact, one of those identified with an abnormal finding was the event’s organizer and CEO of TBBW, Bridgette Bello.

“The goal of this event was to really encourage these busy, successful women to take a time out for themselves and to prioritize their own health,” said Bello. “So, I was thrilled to have the expert surgeons from the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery on board for their screening program. I didn’t expect to have so many women with suspicious findings and I certainly didn’t expect myself to be one of them.”

The fact is, not only does thyroid cancer disproportionally affect women, but it is also most prevalent in women aged 30 to 50. Thus, while the results of the screening program may appear shocking, at face value, they are fairly typical for a group of women in this age range.

What’s next for those who will need additional workups, biopsies and surgery? Dr Nate Walsh, another one of the hospital’s surgeons specializing in thyroid cancer, states that an expert evaluation at the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery starts with a high-resolution ultrasound that looks at the thyroid gland and all the lymph nodes with a detection capability as small as 1 millimeter. “If anything look suspicious, an ultrasound guided needle biopsy is immediately performed,” Dr Walsh explained. Endocrine pathologists are onsite and will immediately interpret the findings and determine if cancer is present. This process can take several weeks at most centers, but is provided at the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery in about 20 minutes. If surgery is required, it can be scheduled out or performed the same day as the biopsy. This is particularly beneficial for traveling patients who need to streamline and expedite the process.

The screening program was a huge success according to Dr. Gary Clayman, founder and medical director of the Clayman Thyroid Center at the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery. The team plans to perform more free thyroid cancer screenings in Tampa Bay in the near future and will offer this program again at future TBBW events.

“The good news is that we can identify cancers very early with this type of screening program which makes them nearly 100% curable,” stated Dr Gary Clayman, director of thyroid surgery at the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery. “When we find thyroid cancer earlier, it allows the robotic scarless approach possible in certain patients. This approach, which leaves no neck scar, whatsoever, is performed here at the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery more than any hospital in the US.”

Robotic thyroid surgery is an innovative, new approach which involves using minimally invasive techniques to treat thyroid tumors and small thyroid cancers. The results are a smaller surgery with less pain, an easier recovery and, of course, no visible scar in the neck.

The Hospital for Endocrine Surgery houses Dr. Hyun Suh and the Scarless Thyroid Surgery Center. Dr. Suh is one of the world’s leading experts in scarless thyroid surgery, including robotic thyroid surgery, and he performs more robotic thyroid operations than any other surgeon in the US.

“My patients love that they can get right back to work and no one will ask them what happened,” said Dr. Suh. “There’s no visible scar, so there’s nothing to explain. Plus, because the surgery is minimally invasive, it lets them return to work quicker and get back into their daily activities with very little downtime.”

Founded by one of the nation’s best-known thyroid surgeons, the Clayman Thyroid Center is the highest volume thyroid cancer referral center in the United States. The Center boasts the most experienced thyroid surgeons in the US who provide personalized care allowing the greatest opportunity for cancer cure, wellness and cosmetic, and functional, outcomes via all types of thyroid surgery from minimal incision to scarless thyroid surgery to advanced cancer care.

www.thyroidcancer.com | (813) 940-3130

The Scarless Thyroid Surgery Center is a worldwide destination for the most advanced robotic surgical techniques that allow removal of nearly all thyroid masses and smaller cancers without a scar. With chief surgeon, Dr. Hyun Suh, previously Chief of Endocrine Surgery at Mt Sinai, NYC, the center performs more robotic thyroid surgery operations than any other hospital in the United States.
www.scarless-thyroid.com | (813) 940-3130

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