It's been a rough road for former Boise State basketball player Coby Karl, son of Denver Nuggets coach George Karl. The younger Karl, 23, had his thyroid removed 13 months ago due to papillary carcinoma, a treatable form of cancer. And he returned to the operating room just last week for the removal of cancerous lymph nodes.

Karl's recent surgery, intended to take two to three hours, lasted for seven hours. This worried Dad.

''When it goes longer and longer, you always think the worst, and start worrying about things like being under anesthesia that long and all the nightmares you have about surgeries,'' George Karl said.

But it turns out Coby was just fine -- doctors just wanted to be thorough -- and the ambitious young man plans to play ball as soon as possible.

Coby is expected to remain inactive for 10 days to two weeks. But after that, he is free to do whatever he wants. And what the 6-foot-4 guard wants to do is start working out in hopes of getting drafted by an NBA team.

''He is anxious to get into the NBA thing and celebrate basketball by trying to make it in this league,'' his dad says.

Denver Nuggets coach George Karl missed his team's match-up against the Lakers Tuesday night so he could spend some quality time with his son, Coby, who had surgery for the removal of cancerous lymph nodes on Monday.

Coby Karl, 23, spent seven hours in surgery. It was his second surgery in 13 months -- he had his thyroid removed last year after he was diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer called papillary carcinoma. Chemotherapy followed the first surgery to kill off any remaining cancer cells.

All reports indicate both Karls are doing fine and Coach Karl, who has been surviving prostate cancer since 2005, was back to his coaching duties last night. His team took on the Sacramento Kings -- and won.

Coby Karl is taking it easy for now. He just recently finished his final season with Boise State University where he led the Broncos with 14.8 points per game. He's still a great athlete, but right now, his health comes first.

"He's a young kid, he's a promising basketball player," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "The most important thing is his health."

Boise State basketball player Coby Karl, son of Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, had surgery 13 months ago to remove his thyroid after he was diagnosed with papillary carcinoma, a form of treatable cancer. And while Karl received chemotherapy to kill off any lingering cancer cells, he must undergo cancer surgery once again.

Karl, who plans to play in the NABC All-Star game in Atlanta on March 31, will return to Boise on April 2 for surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes.

The lymph node cancer was identified in January, but Karl, 23, kept his condition private until his team lost to New Mexico State in the Western Athletic Conference tournament semifinals. This ended the Broncos' season. And now begins Karl's second go-round with cancer.

You may remember Karl as one of last year's NBA draft hopefuls. He worked out for three teams, including his dad's team, but eventually withdrew his name from the draft and returned to Boise State for his senior year.

Radioactive cancer patients attending this weekend's Super Bowl in Miami could be in for an alarming experience when they pass through radiation detectors designed to signal the presence of dirty bombs. Such cancer patients -- who have received treatment using radioisotopes and still may have tiny amounts of radioactive material in their bodies -- may want to come armed with letters from their doctors explaining their precarious set of circumstances.

The use of radioisotopes in medicine is growing -- and so is the use of radiation detectors in our security-conscious nation, which means patients are triggering alarms when they are not even aware they are being scanned, doctors and security officials say.

Nearly 60,000 people a day in the United States undergo treatment or tests that leave traces of radioactive material in their bodies, according to the Society of Nuclear Medicine. These traces are not enough to hurt anyone, but they are enough to trigger radiation alarms for up to three months.

Radioisotopes are commonly used to diagnose and treat certain cancers and thyroid disorders, to analyze heart function, and to scan bones and lungs. And many doctors already know to equip their patients with travel cards because of the problems they can encounter in public places.

Nearly 20 million nuclear medical procedures were performed in the United States in 2005 -- up 15 percent from 2001. Clearly, the number of people who could be mistaken for terrorists is quite large. So if you are one of these people -- with the power to create a buzz in a public setting -- get your papers in order so you can quickly confirm your identity as nothing more than a cancer patient.

Using a three-dimensional model, Queen's University researchers were able to watch how a mutated RET protein linked to thyroid cancer worked, which might result in the development of drugs to treat and prevent inherited and non-inherited thyroid cancer.

The researchers discovered that the protein was ten times more active than normal in cells associated with an inherited cancer syndrome, Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia 2B (MEN 2B).

"We now know why this gene causes these tumors and can start looking at how best to target the mutant proteins so that the cells expressing them can be killed or stopped from growing," says Lois Mulligan, professor of pathology and molecular medicine with the Division of Cancer Biology and Genetics of the Queen's Cancer Research Institute.

According to Medline Plus, thyroid cancer affects one in 1,000 people. Those who had radiation therapy to the neck -- therapy was commonly used in the 1950s to treat enlarged thymus glands, adenoids, tonsils and skin disorders -- are at an increased risk of thyroid cancer. Additional risk factors include chronic goiter and a family history of the disease.

Symptoms of thyroid cancer can be:

• Enlargement of the thyroid gland
• Neck swelling
• A thyroid nodule
• Hoarseness or changing voice
• Cough or cough with bleeding
• Difficulty swallowing
  

To read more about thyroid cancer, visit The Cancer Blog's thyroid cancer-related posts.

An announcement last Wednesday revealed an overall decline in cancer death rates -- probably due to reduced exposure to tobacco, early detection, and better treatment. But the announcement also revealed a surprising jump in cases of thyroid cancer for women.

Between the years 1981 and 1993, incidence rates among women climbed 2.2 percent each year. Between the years 1993 and 2000, they rose 4.6 percent per year. And between 2000 and 2003, there was a 9.1 percent increase each year. This could be a result of better diagnosis but scientists are wondering if there is an unknown risk factor contributing to this startling finding. And it will take at least two more years to determine whether this is a random fluctuation or a true trend. The rate of thyroid cancer in men has also increased but not as much as for women.

The silver lining in this cancer cloud is that trends -- such as those showing increases in cancer incidences and death rates -- often fuel the fight against cancer because researchers are alerted to look for causes which ultimately results in better detection and better prevention.

I never thought the time would come when I could fill a page with names of people I know who have cancer or have died from cancer. When my mom's very best friend died years and years ago of pancreatic cancer, it seemed a remote chance that something like that would happen to someone I know. And then slowly, either because cancer cases increased or because my awareness increased -- or both -- my list of people with cancer grew and grew and grew. And now it's quite long. And it's quite disturbing. And it's empowering too -- because most people on my growing list are surviving. And here are seven survivors who are somehow connected to me -- seven survivors who make up just the tip of the cancer iceberg in my life that stretches far and wide.

Back in June, Roger Ebert, a three-time thyroid cancer survivor, underwent surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his salivary gland. In July, due to complications from the surgery, he was admitted again into the hospital when a blood vessel burst. Surgeons performed a life-saving emergency procedure to correct the complication. Reports at that time indicated Ebert was in serious but stable condition.

Ebert continues to recover in the hospital. Recently, he explained that the blood vessel rupture was due to breakdown of tissue near the artery as a result of aggressive and intense radiation treatments, called neutron beam radiation, three years ago. He is working to strengthen his vocal cords.

In June, when Ebert, who is 63, first went in for surgery, he said, "This is not considered to be a life-threatening form of cancer, and I expect to make a full recovery. I'll continue to function as a film critic during this time." With this recent explanation on how his recovery is progressing, he said, "I don't have a crystal ball, so I can't tell you when, but I sure look forward to being back on the movie beat,'' and he wanted all his fans to know that he is grateful for the good wishes and support.

For more information and related posts:
Roger Ebert: movie critic cancer survivor battling cancer again
Roger Ebert: suffers serious cancer surgery setback
Jay Leno thumbs up as guest host for Roger Ebert

We have been following the story about a potential cancer cluster that has caused thyroid cancer in teens living within a few miles of each other. The parents have been seeking help and answers to determine if there is an environmental cause. The parent group stated they had approached the state and county and felt they were being ignored in the request to have the water in the area tested. Last week, the city stepped up and offered to investigate.

After the story came out about the Trenton teens, one of the parents said the parent group has been contacted by six other people in the area with thyroid cancer.

In a new development, Cincinnati News 5, who is following this story closely, and investigating information as it becomes available, recently aired an interview with Dr. Peter Rickards of Idaho, who has been investigating other thyroid cancer cases in the Pacific Northwest linked to radioactive fallout from nuclear tests.

According to Dr. Rickards, drinking milk from cows who grazed in dairy fields contaminated with radioactive iodine-131 has been linked to increased cases of thyroid cancer in the Pacific Northwest.

Dr. Rickards suggests the parents and investigators in Trenton look for a fresh source of radioactive iodine in the neighborhood.

Dr. Rickards went on to suggest that they need to take a look at how medical incinerators and cancer clinics have been disposing of iodine-131, perhaps incorrectly, and that might possibly be a source of contamination. He doesn't say this is the definitive cause for the unusual number of young people being diagnosed with thyroid cancer in Butler County -- only that it might be a good place to start looking for answers.

You can watch the Cincinnati News 5 news report video Expert: Contaminated Milk Possibly To Blame For Cancer Cases here.

Each year 350 children are diagnosed with a rare form of thyroid cancer. What are the random odds that three teenagers who live within a few miles of each other would be diagnosed with this particular cancer?

Cincinnati News 5 is reporting that the parents of these teens are asking this question and speculating that it might have an environmental cause. The parents wonder -- could a pipeline that runs through town carrying jet fuel have leaked into the ground water -- or is the Edgewood Middle School all three teens attended built on a site that is contaminated?

The parents have no proof, they have no answers and no one seems to want to help them find out what the problem might be that has led to the unusually high concentration of thyroid cancer cases to be diagnosed in one small group of teens living in such close proximity to one another.

According to one of the parents, all they want is to have water samples tested and they feel their requests have been ignored for the last 18 months. Now city officials plan on meeting with the parents next week to discuss their concerns.

It is frustrating to be ignored when you are asking for help to find the cause of circumstances that appear suspicious. It seems rather than let this matter drag out as long as it has, it would have been so much easier for officials to just look into it when it first came up. At least the parents would not have been left to draw their own conclusions.

A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, July 5, 2006 issue, confirms children exposed to radioactive iodine and cesium from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster suffer higher rates of thyroid cancer. The higher the dosage at the time of the accident, the greater the chances they have, or will, develop thyroid cancer. Columbia University in New York researchers, who conducted the study, state that understanding the exposure to radiation is significant, because radioactive iodine is frequently used in medicine.

For additional information, here are past posts we have published regarding the Chernobyl nuclear disaster cancer risks and low-level nuclear radiation increases in cancer:

• TORCH: the other report on Chernobyl
• Greenpeace: Chernobyl cancer deaths grossly underestimated
• Tooth Fairy Project: low level radiation link to cancer

The Columbia University in New York researchers conclude with the statement, "We estimate that 75 percent of the thyroid cancer cases would have been avoided in the absence of radiation."

At the beginning of June we posted that Roger Ebert, Pulitzer prize-winning movie critic for the nationally syndicated movie review show Ebert & Roeper, was scheduled to undergo surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his salivary gland. At that time, Ebert, who is 63, and a three-time thyroid cancer survivor, was quoted as saying, "This is not considered to be a life-threatening form of cancer, and I expect to make a full recovery. I'll continue to function as a film critic during this time."

On June 16, Ebert had a tumor from his salivary gland removed. Recently, he was hospitalized due to complications from the initial surgery when a blood vessel burst. Surgeons performed a life-saving emergency procedure to correct the complication. Reports at this time indicate Ebert is in serious but stable condition.

Ebert began his career in journalism when, in 1966, the Chicago Sun-Times offered him a features writer position. His unique journalistic style in reviewing movies earned him the first Pulitzer Prize awarded to a film critic. To learn more about the no-holds-barred critic of film, visit the Oral Cancer Foundation famous people profile of Roger Ebert -- cancer survivor.

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Roger Ebert, movie critic for the nationally syndicated movie review show Ebert & Roeper, will be having surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his salivary gland. Ebert, who is 63, and a three-time thyroid cancer survivor, is quoted as saying, "This is not considered to be a life-threatening form of cancer, and I expect to make a full recovery. I'll continue to function as a film critic during this time." He doesn't plan on missing any work and will tape shows in advance of his surgery. In the last four years, Ebert has gone through surgery and radiation treatments for thyroid cancer.

Ebert began his career in journalism when, in 1966, the Chicago Sun-Times offered him a features writer position. His unique journalistic style in reviewing movies earned him the first Pulitzer Prize awarded to a film critic. To learn more about the no-holds-barred critic of film, visit the Oral Cancer Foundation famous people profile of Roger Ebert -- cancer survivor.

Researchers have concluded that many cancers are associated with an increased risk of developing thyroid cancer after treatment for the first cancer. In addition, there appears to be a 30 percent chance for thyroid cancer survivors developing a second and different cancer later. Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, UK researchers looked over 25 years of health information collected by cancer registries and found that for thyroid cancer survivors, many of the second cancers diagnosed tended to be skin, prostate, kidney, adrenal gland cancers, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. They also found a number of thyroid cancer diagnosis after another cancer had been diagnosed and treated.

According to the research report, the only cancers not significantly associated with increased risk of thyroid cancer were those of the lips, mouth, pharynx, gallbladder, some female genitals, prostate, and bladder. The highest risk of being diagnosed with secondary thyroid cancer occurred during the first year following the diagnosis of the first cancer. The researchers note that the two-way associations between cancers might be due to shared genetic, hormonal or environmental risk factors or the use of potentially cancer-causing therapies for both cancers. What this study indicates is the real need for both physicians and cancer survivors to be on the lookout for the possibility of thyroid cancer following other cancers, and other cancers following thyroid cancer.

What are the odds? Six women working in the same hospital laboratory have been diagnosed with cancer -- and one of the women has already died. Naturally, the other five women are nervous. During the 1970s and 1980s, six women worked together as technicians in the sterile environment of the Mission Memorial Hospital searching for infections or evidence of diseases like leukemia, identifying electrolytes and white blood counts. Within a span of four years, one by one, all six were diagnosed with cancer.

According to one of the six women diagnosed with breast cancer, they were exposed to hazardous toxins and toxic fumes as maintenance workers burned biohazardous medical wastes, plastic IV bags and tubes, petrie dishes, syringes, and infectious materials in the incinerator near the lab. The Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare in B.C. (OHSAH) recently conducted a preliminary investigation of 63 technicians and acknowledges there is a cancer cluster tied to the lab. Further investigation is needed to determine the extent of the damage caused to the health of all those exposed. Of the 63 lab workers, the cancers include -- breast, ovarian, liver, thyroid, lymphoma, and skin cancer. If you would like to read more on how this could happen, and what exactly the maintenance workers were burning that created the toxic fumes, go here.