EXCERPTED FROM
Cooper, DS and Farwell, AP, “In Memoriam: Lawrence Crane Wood, MD, 1935-2026”
Thyroid EPub 2025 April 8 https://doi.org/10.1177/10507256261440399

On January 30, 2026, we lost a true giant in the world of thyroid patient education when Dr. Lawrence (Larry) Crane Wood passed away at the age of 90 after a long illness. Throughout his almost 40 year career practicing as a general internist at Massachusetts General Hospital, Larry had a particular interest and passion for the care of patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (AIT). He was particularly fascinated by conditions associated with AIT as potential clues to a possible diagnosis of thyroid disorders. Aware that prematurely gray hair could be a sign of an underlying thyroid problem, Larry approached a consortium of hairdressers in Boston, asking them to provide educational pamphlets on thyroid disease to their clients with prematurely gray hair. He also had an interest in possible links of AIT to learning disability and confirmed that men with AIT had higher rates of left-handedness and traits suggestive of dyslexia compared to a control group of men without AIT.

Early on in his medical training, Larry realized that patients who were better informed about their medical problems had greater adherence to their medical regimens and commitment to ongoing follow-up. He also believed that educated patients were less anxious about their diagnoses and were more likely to become active participants in their care. This concept led Larry to publish Your Thyroid, the first book on thyroid disease written specifically for patients. This pioneering book, co-authored by E. Chester (Chip) Ridgway and David Cooper, was first published in 1982, and was subsequently published in two additional editions. A quotation from the first edition preface remains relevant today, almost half a century later:

“You, as a patient, have the right and the responsibility to know what is going on when you get sick—to know the cause of your illness, what tests and treatments you should have, why these tests and are necessary, and what the course of your illness is likely to be.”

Writing Your Thyroid propelled Larry to pursue his enthusiasm for patient education and advocacy, which became his lifelong passion. Larry’s next endeavor was forming the groundbreaking patient education group, the Thyroid Foundation of America (TFA), in 1985. Working out of the downtown Boston YWCA, the TFA produced a patient-centered newsletter called Thyroid Today that contained articles written by thyroid experts as well as patients themselves.

The TFA also sponsored meetings (patient forums) in the Boston area where thyroid patients could interact with one another and have questions related to their care answered by thyroid disease specialists and supported a dedicated patient help line.

In 1989, the TFA hosted First Lady Barbara Bush, who was recently diagnosed with Graves’ disease (President Bush would be diagnosed in 1991) at a special event in conjunction with the 1991 ATA meeting in Boston. Ms. Bush gave a direct, honest, and engaging account of her illness, stressing the importance of a close working relationship between patient and physician. Another major milestone for TFA occurred at the International Thyroid Congress in Toronto in 1995, when Larry became the founding president of the Thyroid Foundation International (TFI). TFI is a consortium of international thyroid patient groups that initially included the TFA, Thyroid Foundation of Canada, British Thyroid Foundation, T.E.D UK, National Graves’ Disease Foundation (NGDF) and the Netherlands. TFI now has >30 patient education groups from 6 continents.

Seeking to expand the outreach of the TFA thyroid patient forums, Larry conceived of the idea of holding patient forums whenever and wherever a group of thyroid specialists gathered. This came to fruition in collaboration with the American Thyroid Association (ATA) at the ATA 1997 annual meeting in Colorado Springs. TFA-ATA patient forums were also held in 1998 and 1999. Continuing with his trademark collegiality and partnership, Larry and the TFA joined with the ATA, the NGDF, the Thyroid Cancer Survivors Association (ThyCa), and Light of Life to form the ATA Alliance For Thyroid Patient Groups, with the goal to provide accurate and reliable information for patients about the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of thyroid diseases. The ATA Alliance thyroid patient forums have been held annually at the ATA annual meetings since 2003, with Larry directing these forums with his ATA colleagues until he retired from medical practice.

Larry was honored at the 2007 ATA meeting with a special award for “his pioneering work in thyroid patient education and advocacy“. Currently, Larry’s vision of providing patient forums whenever thyroid specialists come together carries on with the ATA Alliance thyroid patient forums, which are now virtual and occur several times a year. With Larry’s retirement from medical practice, the TFA merged with the NGDF to form the Graves’ Disease and Thyroid Foundation (GDTF). This group carries on Larry’s legacy as a primary provider of general thyroid education to the public.

As Kimberly Dorris, CEO of GDTF, remarked on learning of Larry’s passing, “It was Larry’s unique ability to instantly connect with people that I’ll most remember him for“….”The thyroid community has lost a great advocate and friend, and he will be greatly missed.”

We could not agree more.
Alan P. Farwell, MD
Editor in Chief