NCCN Publishes New Patient Education Resources for Thyroid Cancer -- One of the Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancers in Women in the United States

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., May 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In 2017, it is estimated that more than 56,000 new cases of Thyroid Cancer will be diagnosed in the United States—and approximately 75% of those patients will be women. In the United States, Thyroid Cancer is one of the of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among adolescents and young adults—the second most prevalent cancer in young women and sixth among young men.  Although most thyroid cancer is slow-growing, some types are aggressive. [1] Due to physician detection and intervention, the five-year survival rate in the United States is 98%.[2]

To empower patients diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) has published the NCCN Guidelines for Patients^® and NCCN Quick Guide™ for Thyroid Cancer. These patient-friendly education materials are made available through funding from the NCCN Foundation^®, ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc., and Rockin' for the Cure. These resources are available free of charge on NCCN.org/patients and on the NCCN Patient Guides for Cancer mobile app.

"NCCN Foundation is proud to support this important resource which indeed will empower patients with thyroid cancer and their caregivers to make informed choices about their care," said Marcie R. Reeder, MPH, Executive Director, NCCN Foundation. "We are incredibly grateful for the generous support from our sponsors, ThyCa and Rockin' for the Cure, as their sponsorship for these resources gives patients access to the same treatment information that their doctors use."

"Thyroid Cancer is challenging because it affects people of all ages from young children through seniors, is especially life-disrupting and stressful when diagnosed in younger patients, and needs lifelong monitoring and management even in low-risk patients," said Gary Bloom, ThyCa Executive Director, and Thyroid Cancer survivor of 21 years. "ThyCa is very pleased to support these important guidelines, which will be helpful resources for both patients and their caregivers."

NCCN Guidelines for Patients are easy-to-understand adaptations based on the same clinical practice guidelines used by health care professionals around the world to determine the best way to treat a person with cancer. Each resource features unbiased expert guidance from the nation's leading cancer centers designed to help people living with cancer understand and discuss their treatment options with their providers.

NCCN Guidelines for Patients and NCCN Quick Guide™ sheets—one-page summaries of key points in the patient guidelines—are written in plain language and include patient-friendly tools, such as questions to ask your doctor, a glossary of terms, and medical illustrations of anatomy, tests, and treatment.  NCCN Guidelines for Patients and NCCN Quick Guide™ sheets DO NOT replace the expertise and clinical judgment of the clinician.

NCCN currently offers NCCN Guidelines for Patients for the following: Brain, Breast, Colon Distress, Esophageal, Kidney, Non-Small Cell Lung, Ovarian, Pancreatic, Prostate, Stomach, and Thyroid Cancers; Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia; Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer; Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia; Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia; Hodgkin Lymphoma; Lung Cancer Screening; Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma; Melanoma; Multiple Myeloma; Myelodysplastic Syndromes; Nausea and Vomiting; Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas; Soft Tissue Sarcoma; and Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia.

The NCCN Guidelines for Patients and NCCN Quick Guide™ sheet for Thyroid Cancer are available to download for free at NCCN.org/patients and on the NCCN Patient Guides for Cancer mobile app.

About NCCN Foundation^®

NCCN Foundation^® was founded by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) to empower people with cancer and advance oncology innovation. NCCN Foundation supports people with cancer and their caregivers at every step of their treatment journey by delivering unbiased expert guidance from the world's leading cancer experts through the library of NCCN Guidelines for Patients^® and other patient education resources. NCCN Foundation is also committed to advancing cancer treatment by funding the nation's promising young investigators at the forefront of cancer research, initiating momentum in their careers and furthering the betterment of patients through their groundbreaking innovations. For more information about NCCN Foundation, visit NCCNFoundation.org.

About ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc., an international nonprofit organization founded in 1995 and advised by thyroid cancer specialists, educates and supports patients and families through its website, online and face-to-face support groups, one-to-one support, over 50 videos with experts on its YouTube Channel, handbooks on all thyroid cancer types, downloadable low-iodine cookbook, online newsletter, and materials in 10 languages. ThyCa sponsors seminars, workshops, and the annual International Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Conference, as well as Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month, year-round awareness programs for early detection, and thyroid cancer research funds and research grants. For more information visit http://www.thyca.org.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®), a not-for-profit alliance of 27 leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education, is dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of cancer care so that patients can live better lives. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Omaha, NE; Case Comprehensive Cancer Center/University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland, OH; City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ, Jacksonville, FL, and Rochester, MN; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN; Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI; Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN; and Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, CT.

Clinicians, visit NCCN.org. Patients and caregivers, visit NCCN.org/patients. Media, visit NCCN.org/news.

[1] Robert I. Haddad, MD, et. al., NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Thyroid Carcinoma, Version 1.2017. © 2017 National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Inc.  Available at NCCN.org. Accessed: May 8, 2017

[2] "Cancer Stat Facts: Thyroid Cancer." Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. National Cancer Institute, n.d. Web. 08 May 2017.

Media Contact: 
Katie Kiley Brown, NCCN
215-690-0238
[email protected]

SOURCE National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Related Links

http://www.nccn.org