The primary goal of the campaign is to:

Generate discussion about thyroid disease and empower every individual impacted by hypothyroidism to work with their healthcare provider to understand and receive the treatment that is right for them.

For more, visit the campaign Web site at: www.followthescriptcampaign.com or read the press release here.

To date the campaign has been featured in many popular news outlets including:
Good Morning America, The Associated Press, Dr. Oz, The New York Times Well Blog, FOX Health, Entertainment Tonight, WSJ.com, WashingtonPost.com, BostonHerald.com, and Miami Herald.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Eben Burnham-Snyder, Rep. Ed Markey, 202-225-2836

Markey, Public Health, Nuclear Safety Experts Urge White House to Implement Nuclear “Emergency Pill” Law

Fukushima analysis highlights flaws in Bush administration decision not to implement 2002 Markey law

WASHINGTON (March 28, 2013) – Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) was today joined by public health and nuclear safety experts to call on the White House to implement a decade-old law authored by Rep. Markey that requires the supply of radiation “emergency pills” to U.S. citizens who live within 20 miles of a nuclear power plant. Rep. Markey and leaders of the American Thyroid Association and Physicians for Social Responsibility today wrote White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren, urging him to overturn the Bush administration’s decision not to implement the law.

 “After the Japanese nuclear meltdown, U.S. citizens need to have this emergency radiation pill available for their families,” said Rep. Markey. “Massachusetts citizens who live near the Pilgrim, Seabrook or Vermont Yankee nuclear power plants are being ignored by the government, with potentially dire consequences if an accident were to ever occur.”

The pills, potassium iodide — also called KI – are safe, effective and inexpensive means of protecting against the cancer-causing effects of radioactive iodine that can be released into the atmosphere following a nuclear meltdown. According to recent press reports, radiation in some areas near the reactors that melted down in Japan surged to as much as 700 times normal levels before residents evacuated, highlighting the need for the medication to be stockpiled in private residences and other public facilities so that people can take it in the first critical hours after they are exposed to radiation, as they are in the process of evacuating the area.

The letter to Dr. Holdren states that a failure to implement the law, “would be tantamount to a rejection of both sound science and the opportunity to learn important lessons from the 2011 nuclear meltdowns in Japan.”

The letter points out several fundamental flaws associated with the Bush administration’s decision not to implement the 2002 law:

·        The Bush administration decision was based on the assumption that U.S. nuclear reactors would be unlikely to experience the sort of meltdowns and radiation releases later experienced in Japan and that such an accident would take hours or even days to develop. The letter points out that there are 23 nuclear reactors in the U.S. with identical designs to the Fukushima reactors that melted down and that radiation was released from those reactors within hours of the blackout that initiated the meltdowns.

·        The Bush administration decision assumed that evacuations in a U.S. nuclear accident would be completed before any radiation was released. The letter says that while radiation releases in Japan took place within about 11 hours of the earthquake, it took the NRC five days to order the evacuation of U.S. citizens located within 50 miles surrounding the stricken reactors. The Japanese government took 26 hours to order the evacuation of a 12.4-mile zone and 5 days to begin distribution of potassium iodide. Recent press reports on the Japanese disaster indicated that, “in one area, the level of radiation had surged to more than 700 times the normal level, indicating that many local residents were exposed to high levels of radiation before they evacuated.”

·        While the Obama administration has thus far failed to order the distribution of potassium iodide to residents living within 20 miles of U.S. nuclear reactors, during the Fukushima meltdowns it distributed it to government employees who were in Tokyo, almost 150 miles away from the stricken reactors.

Rep. Markey amended the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 to make potassium iodide available to state and local governments to meet the needs of all persons living within a 20-mile radius of a nuclear power plant. However, the Bush administration chose to ignore these provisions and declined to implement them, thereby denying communities access to stockpiles of KI.

# # #

Please consider this shortage in your practice patterns and plan for managing your patients that are currently taking LEVOXYL accordingly.

Pfizer Letter (PDF File, 462 KB)

We will continue to monitor this situation and provide further information as it becomes available.

Pfizer Customer Letter (PDF File, 664 KB)

What is Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)?
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is defined as a medical system, practice or product that is not usually thought of as standard care. Standard medical care is care that is based on scientific evidence. For thyroid cancer, standard care includes surgery, radioactive iodine and thyroid hormone suppression therapy. For patients with other thyroid diseases, standard care may include thyroid hormone suppression or supplementation.

The National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NIH NCCAM) defines complementary medicine as being used along with standard medical treatments, and alternative medicine as being used in place of standard medical treatments. Integrative medicine is a comprehensive approach to care that includes a patients’ mind body and spirit; this combines standard medicine with CAM practices.

Types of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
The NIH NCCAM uses five categories to describe the different types of CAM. It would be difficult to create a comprehensive list, but some examples are described below:

MIND-BODY MEDICINES
These are based on a belief that the mind is able to affect your body. Examples include:

• Yoga
• Meditation
• Hypnosis

BIOLOGICALLY-BASED PRACTICES
These include things most often found in nature, and includes dietary supplements and herbal products. Examples include:

• Vitamins
• Herbs
• Special diets

A note about Biologically-Based Practices. It’s common for patients with thyroid cancer or thyroid disease to be recommended to practice a special diet that avoids foods that contain iodine. In fact, use of iodine either in liquid form or as a supplement is not recommended. It’s also common for patients to be told to take Vitamin D or calcium supplementation. In one sense, physicians who treat patients with thyroid disease are therefore recommending a few highly selected biologically based practices. While these practices can be helpful, it’s important to note that there is no one special diet or vitamin that has been proven to eliminate cancer or remove thyroid disease. Because of these special reasons, it’s important to talk with the doctor managing your treatment about any special diets or supplements you are thinking about using.

MANIPULATIVE AND BODY-BASED PRACTICES
These are based on working with the body and are thought to have underlying benefits for the mind as well. Examples include:

• Massage
• Chiropraxy

ENERGY MEDICINE
Energy medicine invokes the belief that the body has energy fields that can be manipulated for healing and wellness. Examples include:

• Reiki
• Tai Chi

WHOLE MEDICAL SYSTEMS
These systems include beliefs and approaches to healing and wellness that come from all of the world and from many cultures. Examples include:

• Naturopathy
• Homeopathy
• Chinese medicine
• Vodun/Expiritism
• Ayurvedic medicine

Reasons patients with thyroid cancer/thyroid disease choose CAM
There are few studies that have looked at why patients with thyroid disease choose CAM. Some of the reasons they state are to:

1. Help cope with the side effects of medication and treatments including fatigue, dry mouth, weight gain and mental “fogginess”
2. Ease the stress and anxiety of medication and treatments, or the worries about having a lifelong diagnosis
3. Feel that this could help with their care
4. Try to treat or cure their disease

Making Choices
A diagnosis of thyroid cancer or thyroid disease can be stressful or worrisome. Some patients who are newly diagnosed may want to add to their physician’s recommendations or even avoid allopathic treatment entirely. It’s natural to want to be well and to think about what else you can do to improve your health. There is a lot of information available, and new approaches for treating thyroid cancer and thyroid disease are always being tested. It can be hard to tell the difference between what is “standard” care and what is “complementary and alternative” medicine. This brochure is intended to help you understand what to consider as you make these choices. The most important message is to talk with your doctor about what you are already using and before you try anything new.

Talk with your doctor before you use CAM, and if you are already using CAM
Some patients are afraid their doctor won’t understand or approve of the use of CAM; some physicians may not understand or approve of this in their patients. But physicians know that their patients want to take an active role in their treatment. We want the best for our patients and would prefer an open line of communication. Talking with your physician about CAM is particularly important because we want to ensure that your treatment works well, and some CAM that may seem safe could potentially interfere with your treatment.

Questions to ask your doctor about CAM:
Do you know what types of CAM might help me deal with the side effects of treatment?

Will CAM interfere with my treatment or medicines?

Can you help me understand what I have read/ heard about CAM?

A “Natural” product does not mean a “Safe” product
Federal Government before being sold to the public, and a prescription is not needed to buy them. The same is true for most CAM practices. There are ads and claims that a certain product has been used for years, or that they are effective in fighting cancer; these claims do not prove that these approaches are safe or effective. Some of these therapies can cost thousands of dollars. It’s important for you as a consumer to decide what is best for you, but you should be careful. Tell your physician if you are using any form of CAM, no matter how safe you think it is. Here are some facts about biological products you may find surprising:

• Herbs and other products may interfere with how well other medicines work in your body.
• Supplements and cleanses can act like drugs in your body.
• Vitamins can have strong activity in your body.
• Taking more of a good vitamin is not necessarily better.

Choose practitioners with care
CAM practitioners are people who should have training and experience in CAM treatment. You should choose one as carefully and thoughtfully as you choose your physician. Be careful of products advertised that claim they have a “cure” but do not give specific information about how well their product works or claim they have only positive results without side effects. Here are some approaches to remember when finding a practitioner:

1. Ask your physician if they can suggest a CAM practitioner
2. Ask whether someone in your cancer or treatment center can recommend a CAM practitioner
3. Ask whether your hospital has a center for integrative medicine or has staff who practice this
4. Contact the CAM professional organization to ensure that your practitioner is certified. This means that they have proper training in their field as judged by national experts. A comprehensive list of certifying organizations is beyond the scope of this brochure; as an example, massage therapists may have certification through the American Massage Therapy Foundation and acupuncturists through NCCAOM (the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine).

Where can I get more information and how can I trust it?
There is a lot of information about CAM and it’s difficult to know who to trust. Good places to start are listed at the end of this brochure. Here are some key questions to ask as you evaluate CAM information:

1. Who benefits from the information given? If the site is selling or promoting something, even indirectly, this will tell you that the information is likely to be unreliable. A review board, expert review and a well-known and respected organization are important for reliability.
2. Where does the information itself come from? Is the author of the site themselves an expert, and are their references listed and from credible sources? Do they have the credentials to be able to critically evaluate claims and the data underlying them? Anecdotal evidence (based on stories from a handful of people) or qualitative evidence (based on feelings about the treatment) is not considered to be substantial scientific data to support claims of benefit.
3. How current is the information? Information on CAM and on standard treatment changes quickly.
4. Does the information take into account my specific condition? Patients with thyroid cancer and thyroid disease have special needs that not all CAM practitioners fully understand. It’s important to know this and to make sure you ask lots of questions and talk with your doctor before using CAM.

Resources – Government Agencies
NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE – Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) http://cam.cancer.gov

NATIONAL INSTITUTES FOR HEALTH- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
http://nccam.nih.gov
Toll-free: 1-888-644-6226
TTY: 1-866-464-3615

CANCER INFORMATION SERVICE (CIS)
http://www.cancer.gov/aboutnci/cis
http://www.cancer.gov
Toll-free: 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237)
TTY: 1-800-332-8615

PHYSICIAN DATA QUERY (PDQ®)
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cancerdatabase

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA)
http://www.fda.gov/

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC)
http://www.ftc.gov/

NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE-SPONSORED CANCER CENTERS
http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/

FURTHER INFORMATION
Further details on this and other thyroid-related topics are available in the patient information section on the American Thyroid Association website at www.thyroid.org.

Thyroid Disease and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for Saving and Printing (PDF File, 933 KB)

Ever wonder why we add iodine to salt? Or why nearly a third of our global population faces easily-preventable mental impairment due to diets with inadequate iodine? Find these important facts and learn about those leading the worldwide campaign to overcome iodine deficiency on the new and improved website of the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD) Global Network, http://www.iccidd.org.

“For generations we’ve known that iodine deficiency is responsible for unsightly goiters,” explained Prof. Michael Zimmermann, “but what most people still don’t realize is that if an expectant mother has inadequate dietary iodine, her newborn child will have his or her mental capacity lowered by 10-15 IQ points. That imposes tragic costs in unrealized personal development and costly burdens on the family and society. But correcting iodine deficiency through iodized salt costs only 4¢ a year for each person.”

The re-launched website features a powerful search function and access to the full archive of the IDD Newsletter, back to 2006.

The ICCIDD Global Network is the authoritative voice for iodine nutrition whose mission is the sustained elimination of Iodine Deficiency Disorders through science-based national fortification programs.