September is Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month

Throwback photo from 2018!

In 2010, it started with the wonderful news I was going to be a mom. Fast-forwarding through the experience of living in an abusive marriage and moving through a custody battle, my health began to suffer. Changes on the outside were beginning to show, and family and friends took notice. With dreams of becoming a well-known chef, I knew I needed to help my body fight the battles of constant stress, that abusers left in their path while transitioning back to a life of normalcy.

Becoming dubbed the “hungry woman” I began with using my culinary detective skills to bring myself back to health, along with other natural and homeopathic remedies.

Being back in my comfort zone in Texas, and increasing my knowledge of the food we consume, I began to see the signs of abuse and stress fade away.

This photo-above-was also around the time I decided to go back to my childhood roots and start a garden like old times. Make that a very large Texas-sized garden. One’s health is no small matter, so neither should my home garden be.

Soon after designing the garden, I began to see that God wanted this garden project not just for me, but for my family as well. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t know my mom had been working with her doctors about her thyroid, but I was starting to take notice from my own research of how most plants can support your health to heal when her doctors began “testing” her thyroid medication brands and dosage.

I found it upsetting, and unnerving, that during medical school, doctors have little to no training on nutrition. So what happens in medical school? I not sure, but I’ve gone through nutrition classes through acquiring my culinary degrees. Even becoming a member of the garden committee that produced on sight ingredients in a farm-to-table fashion for our public restaurants on campus.

I am still on the journey of healing my mom to restoring her thyroid for good. One will do what they can for their best friend, and she falls at the top of my list.

SEPTEMBER IS THYROID CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Before further damage can be done, I continue in my culinary pursuit to find a healthier, natural, and non medicated way to keep my mother here for many, many years.

I came across this wonderful and emotional challenge in 2018 of another female who began a thyroid cancer awareness challenge. Though we are not, and I pray never at this stage, I decided to join in to support her and other families who are at different stages of dealing with thyroid issues. The challenge was to post a photo of you wearing a ribbon around your neck to show support and awareness of the thyroid we all have.

I took my photo with a ribbon, as well as attached an essential oil diffuser charm. On my path to finding food and products to help my own stressed and abused body, I found essential oils.

One essential oil that supports the thyroid gland is lemongrass. I placed a few drops in the charm to create an aroma to breathe in throughout the day, close to the gland.

Thyroid cancer is most common in women, so this month is to bring awareness to help in early diagnosis and treatment.

The challenge, unfortunately, has ended, but I hope that you will take part in this continued awareness on your own time throughout the month of September. Awareness is key to finding preventative ways to keep us all healthy.

Here’s to healthy thyroids.

~Cassie