Cushing's Syndrome Awareness Day: World Expert Discusses this Underdiagnosed Adrenal Disorder and Cure
TAMPA, Fla., April 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Carling Adrenal Center is recognizing Cushing's Syndrome Awareness Day, April 8, aimed at raising awareness of this debilitating condition and highlighting its potential cure.
Almost three percent of adults in the US have an adrenal tumor that they don't know about. The vast majority of these are non-cancerous, but many make excess hormones that cause many health problems—most of which are never diagnosed.
Cushing's Syndrome (Primary Hypercortisolism) is a disorder that occurs when one (or both) of the adrenal glands produces too much cortisol. This can cause a range of symptoms, including weight gain, fatigue, and mood changes. This syndrome affects many aspects of your health and is greatly underdiagnosed.
Cushing's Syndrome is dramatically underdiagnosed. If you ask your doctor, the majority would answer that Cushing's Syndrome is very rare. Unfortunately, that statement is incorrect. They think it is rare because nearly 80% of patients with this problem go undiagnosed and untreated for years and even decades.
About 10% of adrenal masses overproduce the hormone cortisol and thus cause Cushing's Syndrome. Since the USA has a population of about 330 million people, that means that 6.6 million people have an adrenal mass and 300,000 people will develop Cushing's Syndrome at some time in their lifetime.
"Cushing's Syndrome can have a tremendous impact on a patient's quality of life," said Dr. Tobias Carling, Founder and Medical Director of the Carling Adrenal Center in Tampa, Florida. "Our goal is to raise awareness of this condition and help patients understand that surgical treatment can offer significant benefits and even cure. We don't want patients to continue suffering in silence."
Adrenal surgery is the only curative treatment for adrenal gland tumors that secrete cortisol and cause Cushing Syndrome. No medications are curative for Cushing's Syndrome, because they do not address the underlying problem—the adrenal tumor.
The biggest challenge is for doctors to diagnose these hormone-producing adrenal tumors which means they need to consider them as a possibility and be looking for them. The second challenge is to find an experienced adrenal surgeon to perform the operation. Unfortunately, there are thousands of patients who have been diagnosed with Cushing's Syndrome but are not sent to a surgeon because there are very few experts in adrenal surgery. In fact, the average number of adrenal operations performed by American adrenal surgeons is one operation per year.
"If you do anything once per year, there's no way you are an expert at it," says Dr. Carling. "I perform adrenal surgery exclusively, and I do about 500 adrenal operations per year. There's nothing I haven't seen."
Adrenal surgery is a complex and delicate procedure that requires the expertise of a skilled surgeon, and the importance of finding a high-volume adrenal surgeon cannot be overstated. Surgery volume directly correlates to higher cure rates and lower complication rates. And although it may be tempting to choose a surgeon based on location, it's essential to take the time to research and find a surgeon who has the necessary experience and expertise to provide the best possible care. That may mean the best surgeon for your condition is not down the street or even in your state.
"More and more, patients are behaving like consumers and traveling to secure the best care," says Dr. Carling. "Think about it – there's nothing more important than your health. Why would you want to risk that?"
The Carling Adrenal Center is the world's leading center for the diagnosis and treatment of adrenal disorders, including Cushing's Syndrome. The center offers a multidisciplinary approach to care, with a team of experts who work together to provide the best possible outcomes for patients.
"We are dedicated to helping patients with Cushing's Syndrome and other adrenal disorders," said Dr. Carling. "By raising awareness of this condition and the benefits of surgical treatment, we hope to help more patients get the care they need and get their lives back."
Cushing's Syndrome Awareness Day falls during the first week of Adrenal Disease Awareness Month (April), and is part of the Carling Adrenal's Center larger initiative to educate patients on various disorders of the adrenal glands. Throughout the month, Dr. Carling and his team will be publishing in-depth articles on adrenal tumors, pheochromocytomas, Conn's syndrome, Cushing's Syndrome and more. Those articles can be found here.
The Carling Adrenal Center and Dr. Carling operate exclusively at the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery in Tampa, Florida. The Hospital for Endocrine Surgery is a campus of HCA South Tampa Hospital and is solely dedicated to the surgical treatment of adrenal, thyroid and parathyroid tumors and cancers.
About the Carling Adrenal Center:
Founded by Dr. Tobias Carling, one of the world's leading experts in adrenal gland surgery, the Carling Adrenal Center is a worldwide destination for the surgical treatment of adrenal tumors. Dr. Carling spent nearly 20 years at Yale University, including 7 as the Chief of Endocrine Surgery before leaving in 2020 to open to Carling Adrenal Center, which performs more adrenal operations than any other hospital in the world.
www.adrenal.com | (813) 972-0000
About Hospital for Endocrine Surgery
The Hospital for Endocrine Surgery is a campus of HCA Florida South Tampa Hospital focused on compassionate patient care and highly specialized treatment of endocrine tumors. We provide a wide array of services necessary for the diagnosis and surgical treatment of tumors of the thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands. Our team includes doctors, surgeons, nurses and technicians who have dedicated their careers to delivering the highest cure rates using the most advanced techniques available. HCA's Hospital for Endocrine Surgery is the nation's highest volume hospital for thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal tumors and cancers.
www.hospitalforendocrinesurgery.com
Contact:
Julie Canan
Director of Marketing, Carling Adrenal Center
(941) 468-3002
SOURCE Carling Adrenal Center
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