Thyroid Cancer Research Grant Applications Due January 31, 2005, for Third Grant to be Funded by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association

In 2005, for the third year in a row, a thyroid cancer research grant will be sponsored by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc., ThyCa Board Chair Gary Bloom has announced.

The American Thyroid Association(ATA), the professional association of clinicians and researchers concerned with thyroid diseases, will select the recipient of the ThyCa grant. The Call for Proposals and eligibility requirements are available on the ATA web site. Deadline for submission of a proposal summary is January 31, 2005. Authors of selected proposals will be notified by late February and invited to submit complete grant applications that will be due by April 1, 2005,

“Our grants are an important step in ThyCa’s growing efforts to raise funds for research to cure all types of thyroid cancer, which is the most common endocrine cancer. More research on this challenging disease is urgently needed, because it's one of the few cancers that is increasing in its incidence as well as numbers of deaths. We appreciate the concern and support of everyone in ATA for patients and families who are dealing with thyroid cancer,” said ThyCa Board Chair Gary Bloom.

“We feel excited and honored to support advances in thyroid cancer research,” said ThyCa Board Member and Fundraising Chair Joni Eskenazi. "The funds for our grants are made possible by the generous contributions of our members, families, friends and volunteers, in support of our sponsored Fundraising for Research Events held during the year."

The first two grants funded by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., in 2003 and 2004, were awarded to Xiulong Xu, Ph.D., of Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, and Sareh Parangi, M.D., Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

ThyCa is an all-volunteer, national nonprofit 501 (c)(3) service organization of thyroid cancer survivors, families, and health care professionals guided by nationally recognized experts on thyroid cancer. ThyCa’s mission is education, support, and communication for people at all stages of testing, treatment, and follow-up for all types of thyroid cancer, as well as for their families and friends.

Free support services and resources include ThyCa’s award-winning educational web site, seven e-mail support groups, local support groups coast to coast, a Person To Person Network, a toll-free survivors’ telephone number, a free online newsletter, a free downloadable low-iodine cookbook, and regional one-day workshops.

In addition, ThyCa’s annual international conference brings together thyroid cancer survivors, families, and experts in thyroid cancer treatment and research. The 8th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference will take place October 21-23, 2005, in Denver, Colorado, at the Sheraton Denver West Hotel.

Information about thyroid cancer, ThyCa's free support services, and the annual conference is available by writing to PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, e-mailing to thyca@thyca.org, or visiting the ThyCa web site.