I am approached on a regular basis by individuals who have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, asking “If you had it to do again, would you remove your thyroid?”  The short answer to that is “No”.    Knowing what I do now, I would not remove my gland.  The best holistic doctors I have talked to will recommend that it be removed which will allow you to work on the cancer naturally.  I agree that removing the assaulting entity is the best course of action and can help your immune system to more effectively fight the cancer……..but the thyroid gland is different.  There are a few organs in the body that are absolutely critical – you’ll die without them.  Therein lies the problem.  It’s the dirty little secret that Endocrinologists seem to keep close to them and do not freely share with their patients when they are facing surgical removal.  My doctor’s words echo in my head  ”Don’t worry you will take a little pill for the rest of your life and this will replace your what your thyroid did”.  But the truth is that nothing can do what your thyroid did and without your thyroid or thyroid hormone medication YOU WILL DIE.  I hate the feeling that I am dependent on a pharmaceutical company for my very existence.  No one told me…….I would have chosen differently.  When I went to have my thyroid removed I didn’t even have a cancer diagnosis.  I trusted them.  I shouldn’t have.

What does your thyroid do that causes you to die without it?

Your thyroid gland is your main metabolic hormone producing gland.  Your cells have receptors for a hormone called triiodothyronine or T3.  Doctors measure this hormone in it’s free form (FT3) to determine how well your body is converting thyroxine (T4) to the active hormone.  When this metabolic hormone is found in low levels, the patient can suffer from a long list of symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, dry skin, constipation and brain fog (just to name a few).

Why is T3 important?

T3 is a very critical hormone.  It is active in your basal metabolic rate.  This is what causes calories to burn and ATP (energy for the cells) to be created.  T3 stimulates the production of RNA .  RNA is important in proper DNA creation as well as enzyme actions within the body.  It  increases the rate of glycogen breakdown and glucose synthesis.  This is why I believe many hypothyroid individuals struggle with insulin resistance and hypoglycemia.  T3 stimulates the breakdown of cholesterol and increases the number of LDL receptors.  This is why hypothyroid individuals tend to have high cholesterol readings.  T3 increases the heart rate and force of contraction, thus increasing cardiac output.  Many hypothyroid people have issues with low blood pressure.  T3 has an effect on serotonin and other brain chemicals.  Low levels can create a “brain fog”.

What is this “little pill” that makes all things better?

This little pill that my doctor told me about was levothyroxine.  It is commonly marketed under the names of Synthroid (aka the “Cadillac” of thyroid hormones) and Levoxyl.  Both are chemically created T4 only hormones.  They also contain inactive fillers that many individuals react to. The normal thyroid  produces T4, T3, T2, T1 and Calcitonen.  Think about this.  Your thyroid gland creates 4 hormones and calcitonen (needed for proper calcium absorption).  Do you see a problem?  The thyroid hormone they are recommending to sustain you has ONE component.  Logic questions how this would work well.  It doesn’t.  This is a problem.  There is another option.  It’s called desiccated thyroid hormone and it is marketed under the names of Armour, Nature-throid and Accella NP.  In Canada it is called ERFA Thyroid.

Why didn’t I know about dessicated thyroid?

Dessicated thyroid has been used effectively for suppression of thyroid cancer for over 100 years!  The package insert states it is effective.  But the Endocrinologist will tell you that if you have had thyroid cancer you cannot take this medication.  My doctor told me that if I took this medicine my cancer would return and I would die.  When I pressed for medical research to support this statement he could produce nothing.  To this day I have no idea why there is so much animosity in the medical community toward natural thyroid hormones.  The only thing that makes sense is MONEY.  The makers of the synthetic thyroid hormone have money and they use it.  Doctors are taught in medical school that T4 only medications are safe and effective.  Yet many people without thyroids are suffering.  Not just a little but a lot!  I see them in my practice continually and it breaks my heart.  My own story is a testimony to 6 years of needless suffering.  In January 2006, I switched from Synthroid to Armour.  My integrative doctor was willing to prescribe it for me.  Within 4 days the brain fog that plagued me lifted.  Joint pain and muscle aching melted away.    I was also able to OVERCOME cancer while on it.

I am sure you are thinking – why don’t they just prescribe this if it works so well?   Because for most doctors it isn’t considered acceptable care and they are worried about being sued or demonized by their profession.  It’s a crime.  It’s malpractice and we cannot let it continue.  This is another issue with being thyroidless.  There are precious few doctors that will A) prescribe this hormone and B) do it well.  Doing it well requires leaving the lab values behind and listening to the symptoms of the patient.  They are not lab values but people.  Your body will tell you when levels are off and action needs to be taken.

20% of the T3 comes directly from your thyroid gland

Synthetic thyroid hormone has other issues.  20% of the T3 in the body comes directly from the thyroid gland.  It is not converted from T4.  How can you take a T4 medication and expect it to pick up the slack.  T4 is converted in the liver and kidney’s.  Many of us are so toxic that these organs are struggling to function by detoxing the body much less convert thyroid hormones.  This may be one reason why so many struggle on synthetic hormones.

It’s having a drug that makes us do it!

If you get cancer of the liver, bladder, or lungs do we remove them?  No, not normally.  So why do we rip out the thyroid?  Because there is a drug.  But without it we die.  Is it worth it?

The next question….If I don’t remove it can I heal naturally?  What are the statistics of people who have been successful? 

I’ll answer the second question first.  I don’t have statistics.  It hasn’t been studied.  It is very rare to find people who are doing it.  I know 3 personally that have done it without removal or RAI.  My own story is one of healing after a total thyroidectomy and 3 rounds of RAI.  So you see that following the protocol that is meant to cure you isn’t a guarantee.  It almost killed me.  RAI CAUSES cancer.  That’s why there is a 500 mCi dose lifetime limit.

With every disease the best line of attack is to get to the root of the issue.  It isn’t about genes.  If it runs in your family  your are not guaranteed to get the disease.  Health is 80% environment and 20% genes.  Look to nutrigenomics to see how the food you eat, the chemicals you are exposed to and the lifestyle you lead turns on and off good genes.  Is it possible to heal naturally from cancer?  The answer is yes.  Many are doing it.  The media is not promoting it.  But it is happening.  Diet, Detox, Hormone Balancing.  These are the keys to your success.  This is what I help others do do.  It is what I did and it worked.

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