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Pikapolonica

And What Can We Do To Change It?
It seems unusual if a week goes by and diabetes, heart disease, or breast cancer aren't in the news. But when is the last time thyroid disease was a major news story?
It seems surprising to me that we actually hear so little about thyroid problems in the media, except for the occasional mention in women's magazines. Here we have a condition that affects many millions of people - some experts even suggest that as many as 59 million people have thyroid disease, with the majority not yet diagnosed - and yet, far less common diseases get far more attention.

What's going on?

I have some theories.

First, as an endocrinologist once told me, "Thyroid disease isn't sexy." She was referring to the fact that, in medicine, the more life and limb are at risk, the more interesting a disease is considered by the medical establishment.

Except in rare cases, thyroid disease usually develops slowly, and its symptoms tend to appear over time. Thyroid disease is chronic, long-term, and rarely fatal in the short-term, and in Western countries, doesn't tend to strike children.
Also, symptoms such as fatigue, sleep problems, weight changes, depression, low sex drive, hair loss, feeling cold or hot, diarrhea or constipation are not exactly the sort of things the television drama show ER is going to feature. (Although I will give it to the show "House." Every couple of episodes, curmudgeonly doctor Gregory House includes thyroid problems or a particular autoimmune condition on the laundry list of things to rule out in whatever mysterious ailment is being featured.)

But without the urgency of danger to life or limb, or the emotional pull of children at risk, thyroid disease just doesn't have much visibility. It's not likely that thyroid disease will end up becoming a major cause for celebrities or socialites, or that thyroid disease will be the beneficiary of major walkathons, telethons, or media campaigns.

Second, thyroid disease primarily affects women. You've probably heard the old bromide, "If men had periods, Congress would fund a National Institute of Premenstrual Syndrome." There's some truth in that, however. Women's health concerns have traditionally received far less attention, when compared to health issues that are of more concern to men.

Check out the various federal government health websites, and see if you can even find which institute or division at HHS focuses on thyroid disease. It's nearly impossible. If you do manage to figure it out (it's the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases NIDDK), see if you can find any substantial informational materials on thyroid disease. They're not there. It's the same with funding for thyroid-related research. In comparison, diabetes, a disease that affects fewer people than thyroid disease, has its own NIH institute, and is the subject of many research grants.

Without a government presence, and few major planned or current studies of thyroid-related issues, we end up with fewer newsworthy developments of interest to doctors, patients, the media, and the general public.

Third, thyroid disease suffers from a stigma. An entire generation of people - and practitioners as well - seem to think the term "thyroid disease" is actually code for saying that someone has a weight problem. You see it in sitcoms, and even advertisers like Marriott and Dairy Queen have run advertisements that used couched references to "thyroid problems" to imply - supposedly humorously - that someone was obese.

You even hear comedians make jokes about it. For example, standup comic Emo Philips is known for a bit he did where he said, "I saw a woman wearing a sweatshirt with 'Guess' on it. I said, 'Thyroid problem?'" Some people even think that thyroid problems are a bogus excuse for being overweight. It's true that many thyroid patients do gain weight, and struggle with that issue. But I think the media sometimes behave as if thyroid-related weight gain was an infection they're afraid to catch.

Fourth, lack of celebrity coverage. When a high-profile celebrity announces that she's battling breast cancer, or has gastric bypass surgery for weight loss, it's often front page news, and the subject of extensive celebrity coverage. But few celebrities seem willing to publicly announce a thyroid condition, much less make it a cause or issue to promote.

For example, Sex and the City actress Kim Cattrall, NBC Today show host Meredith Vieira, and singer Linda Rondstadt are all hypothyroid, and yet we rarely hear anything about their thyroid challenges. Many celebrities undoubtedly have thyroid problems, yet few of them have made it publicly known. Again, I blame the stigma associated with thyroid disease for ensuring the celebrity code of silence.

Fifth, I also think Oprah Winfrey shares part of the responsibility. For years, Oprah has made women's health issues the focus of her programs. She has dedicated numerous episodes of her popular and influential show to the topics of menopause, low sex drive, weight loss, perimenopause. And yet, time and again, as she and her health experts have listened to women complain of their fatigue, difficulty losing weight, depression, hair loss, and lack of sex drive, thyroid disease has never been mentioned!

Of course, there was one time, when Dr. Phil was still a frequent guest, and an overweight woman said that she had a thyroid test after she gained quite a bit of weight. Dr. Phil cut her off and said, in a disparaging tone, something to the effect of, "Come on now, y'all are not overweight because of your thyroid!" We even launched a thyroid awareness effort here at the About Thyroid site, and thousands of thyroid patients wrote to Oprah and her producers to encourage her to cover thyroid disease on her show. It's been six years and counting since that particular campaign to raise Oprah's awareness, and Oprah is still ignoring thyroid problems in women.

What Will Change the Situation?
Just as there are no magical cures for thyroid disease, I don't believe there are any magical cures for the lack of attention thyroid disease gets in the press. But what would likely bring thyroid disease into the spotlight?
And what can you do?

First, let's keep spreading the word that thyroid disease is not a some boring problem that only causes middle-aged women to gain weight. Thyroid disease can cause infertility, a condition that prevents young women from experiencing the joy of motherhood. It can be the reason behind debilitating PMS, a topic near and dear to many women -- and the men who love them.
More than half the women of America complain of low sex drive at some point or another, and most don't know that the thyroid may be to blame. And men with sexual problems and/or hair loss may also be suffering from an undiagnosed thyroid condition. These are all important parts of the thyroid story that don't get told, but could help change the media perception of thyroid disease.

Second, we need to become more aware of what the government is doing in terms of research.

Write to your representatives and ask why more research isn't focused on thyroid disease. Urge the NIH to dedicate more efforts to providing information and funding research on thyroid conditions. Here's a handy page online where you can easily find online and regular mail information to write your representatives.
Third, fight the stigma. If you hear an advertisement that disparages thyroid patients, write the advertiser, write the media outlet that ran the ad, and let me know. I'll help publicize it, and we may be able to get the advertiser to change their approach - AND increase awareness while we're at it.

Fourth, while I wouldn't wish thyroid disease on anyone, thyroid disease would be in the news if a high-profile celebrity who developed a thyroid condition and had resulting weight gain went public about her health and the reason for her weight gain, and made it her cause. A high-profile celebrity who adopts the cause of thyroid awareness has the power to dramatically affect awareness in a positive way.

And finally, imagine the impact if Oprah dedicated an hour-long program, and an article in her widely read O magazine, to thyroid disease? If Oprah focused her powerful lens on thyroid disease she would, in a very concentrated way, quickly raise women's awareness of the issue of undiagnosed and improperly treated thyroid disease. Oprah has the potential to change the lives and futures of millions of women. What can we do? Take a look at this list of upcoming show topics and send in your thyroid stories to Oprah. You can also send an email to O magazine to encourage them to cover thyroid disease by clicking here.

Or send your letter to:

Oprah Winfrey
Harpo Productions
110 North Carpenter St.
Chicago, IL 60607

Mary Shomon, About.com's Thyroid Guide since 1997, is a nationally-known patient advocate and best-selling author of 10 books on health, including "The Thyroid Hormone Breakthrough: Overcoming Sexual and Hormonal Problems at Every Age," "The Thyroid Diet: Manage Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss," "Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You...That You Need to Know," "Living Well With Graves' Disease and Hyperthyroidism," "Living Well With Autoimmune Disease," and "Living Well With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia." Click here for more information on Mary Shomon.

sončica · Objavljeno: 23 Mar 2007 21:06 Naslov sporočila:

Draga Pikapolonica, vidim da si se zelo potrudila. Ampak bi te vseeno vp
rašala, ali bi tole lahko prevedla za nas nevedneže Laughing

.

Hvala ti !

Lara · Pridružen/-a: 17.09. 2006, 19:24 Prispevkov: 270

Piše da zdravnikom ni ščitnica tolko zanimiva, ker ni tako nevarna za življenje. Pa da ljudje uporabljajo ščitnico za opravičevat probleme z debelostjo in to da nobena znana osebnost ne prizna da ima probleme z ščitnico. Piše še druge stvari, zelo zanimive. Wink

Pikapolonica · Objavljeno: 26 Mar 2007 08:40 Naslov sporočila:

Ja v glavnem to ja ;-). Skratka diabetes je manj pogost od scitnicnih obolenj, pa je v svetu vseeno bolj prepoznaven. Obstaja veliko raziskovalnih institucij, ki se s tem ukvarjajo etc... Za scitnicna obolenja pa ne in to zato, ker se jih se vedno drzi neke vrste stigma...ker zajemajo mnozico simptomov, ki bi jih lahko hm nekako povezali z negativnimi znacajsnimi lastnostmi (recimo debelost, depresivnost, razdrazljivost, panika, anksioznost, mnozivo drugih telesnih simtptomov, ki bi jih lahko pripisali temu, da smo hipohondri etc...) v glavnem, ce nekdo ne razume celotnega delovanja bolezni, mislim, da si je clovek za to enostavno sam kriv in da se zmisljuje ;-). Hkrati bolezen navadno ni dovolj dramaticna, da bi pritegnila medije - ne pades v komo kot pri diabetesu, ne umres kar tako, nisi invalid etc...No, na koncu pise, da je potrebno malce pritisnit na lokalna ministrstva etc da se na bolezen opozarja in spodaj je naslov Oprah Winfrey, da bolniki vsega sveta nanjo naslovimo pismo, da se koncno to obravnava tudi v njeni oddaji (menda je ze veckrat zavrnila). Njena oddaja in revija imasta namrec v svetu mocan vpliv in stvari bi se lahko zacele premikati na bolje, v smislu da bi bilo po svetu vec raziskovalnih institucij, vec denarja, boljsa zdravila etc...
Gre namrec za to, da bolezen po eni strani ni tako huda, da bi nas takoj pobralo, po drugi strani pa je dovolj huda, da nam zelo zagreni zivljenje. Zaenkrat je zdravljenje omejeno na to, da nekako prezivimo (nekateri pa tudi prezivotarimo) zivljenje. Gotovo bi v prihodnosti lahko nasli bolj ucinkovita zdravila ali morda nacin presajanja izvornih celic recimo, da bi se scitnica obnavljala, kot se to ze poskusa pri diabetesu, medtem ko v povezavi s scitnico ni veliko raziskav.
To, bi bilo na kratko, malce sem dodala se svoje mnenje.
Mogoce bi se scasoma lahko drsutvo povezalo tudi s z drustvi v tujini, da vidimo, kaksne to tam izkusnje in bi lahko dosegli kaj na mednarodnem nivoju ;-), mogoce tudi EU namenja kak denar za boj in osvescanje proti tovrstim boleznim.
Lp Pika

Lencha · Pridružen/-a: 22.05. 2006, 16:01 Prispevkov: 195

Ja, saj je jasno, zakaj je tako. Koliko jih umre recimo zaradi težav s ščitnico in koliko zaradi posledic diabetesa? Velika razlika, bi rekla. In ker imam oboje, sem res "happy", a ne? Wink

Ko takole berem, koliko bolezni ne jemljejo resno...ne bolniki ne zdravniki. Se jim enostavno ne ljubi z njimi ukvarjat, ker niso smrtno nevarne. Recimo Hashiji...lepo papapjo "sintetiko" in ne bodo umrli, ker telo pač dobi, kar rabi za preživetje. Če se pa kdo slabo počuti, je pa pač njegov problem...po navadi smo delomrzneži, nevrotiki, tečke, hipohondri in še marsikaj. Vem, za bruhat! Sicer gre malo na bolje, zdaj te splošni zdravniki več ne pošljejo najprej k psihiatru, ker jih Metuljčice osveščamo na razne načine.
Se pa obrača ogromno denarja pri odkrivanju raznih zdravil za neozdravljive bolezni...in menda jih nekaj tudi uspešno scumprajo...za jetiko več ne umreš, pa za ošpicami tudi ne, pa antibiotik dela čudeže... Wink

ne, resno...saj kar nekaj karcinomskih zdravil baje deluje ampak je velikokrat tako, da sredi terapije zmanjka denarja, ali pa ni...eh, raje ne bi o tem.
Bi rekla, da dokler nam nagaja samo ščitnica, lahko rečemo JUHUHU! Wink

Vse dobro,
Lenča

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