1. THE THYCAN IS BOSS!! Remember YOU are the supporter. The person with the thyroid cancer is the one who is running the show. Encourage the thycan to stay in charge, even if it's a matter of delegating everything to someone else.
2. JOIN THE THYCA EMAIL FAMILY!!! Go to the website of the Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association and join the thyca email support group. These wonderful people will support YOU and make you a near expert on thyca, so you can be a good resource to your loved one.
3. SOMETIMES, LESS is MORE: Sometimes, I would fret and wish I were closer, so I could help her more. But maybe it's a good thing that we live far apart. If I were there, she would be able to give in and let me do it all. But this way, she has to stay focused, and remain in charge of her own health. I have had other young thyca survivors tell me they can feel themselves mature and grow in self-esteem, everytime they have to handle another thyca ordeal, or arrange another appointment, or get copies of a test, all by themselves.
4. VOLUNTEER FOR TOUGH JOBS: I assumed the tasks of doing the research, belonging to the thyca group, setting up appointments, gather reports (be sure to gather every surgery report, pathology report, blood test report, etc.) and keeping in touch with family members on progress. I continually asked Julie if I was doing too much, or not enough. There were times when she preferred to handle things on her own. But there were other times when she was so thankful for even simple things that saved her some precious energy. I had to always remember it was HER show...not mine.
5. KEEP A CALENDAR!! By keeping a calendar that matches the one the thycan has, you can remind him/her of appointments, and/or be ready with proper support for the next event, like having LID foods ready to go.
6. KEEP RECORDS!! This is a huge job, all by itself. With the thycan's permission, keep copies of all the records and reports. After each lab test, surgery, biopsy, body scan, etc...get a copy of the report. In some cases, due to confidentiality rules in the doctor's offices and hospitals, the thycan will have to ask for these, but you can remind him/her to request them, and then you can volunteer to collect them and keep them organized.
7. SEND FOOD!!!! Julie and her boyfriend handled the fresh food. They had a system where he would cook HER low iodine diet dinner and she'd cook HIS regular dinner. That way, she didn't have to think about LID ingredients while cooking with a hypo brain, but she got the perfect LID meal that he made for her. Meanwhile, I sent her LID carepackages with all the other goodies.
Be sure to download the LID cookbook that is offered on the Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association website. The cookbook also has detailed instructions on what can and can't be used on a low iodine diet.
REMEMBER! This is a LOW iodine diet, not a NO iodine diet. Try for "no", but don't panic if you get a little, here and there.
Also, remember that "sodium" that is listed on a nutritional values list is not usually a problem. The problem is when they list "Salt" as one of the ingredients.
The following are some of my favorite things to stick in LID carepackages for Julie. If you don't find the recipies in the LID cookbook, feel free to email me for them.
Snacks are ingredibly important. Julie kept cookies, fruit leather, and crackers with her, at all times while on the LID. Otherwise, hunger and temptations are too great.
LID SEASONINGS: I made a combo seasoning of noniodized salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, etc. and put it in a small shaker jar.
BREADS: I made homemade breads on a bread machine.
SUGARED NUTS: These were easy, and filled the need for something sweet.
DRIED FRUIT LEATHER: Great for taking to classes for snacks.
COOKIES
CRACKERS: These are homemade, like "wheat thins", and satisfy the salt cravings.
DRESSINGS: I sent baggies with the dry ingredients for salad dressings. She added the oil (not soy) and vinegar at her end. Some of them were just used dry, as seasonings on poultry and stir fry.
Please inform me of any corrections or additions you think are needed. I will try to update and add to the list of links in the near future. I'd be happy to hear of information YOU would like to see provided.
Drop me a line!