"When you ask people where their thyroid is, they usually don't know. But the thyroid is an important organ. It can be very scary for a patient when a spot lights up on a PET/CT scan. I followed the advice of my thesis supervisor and became the sole researcher in the field of thyroid cancer at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, where my mother also works. I investigated how we should act when discovering such a spot. It doesn't always have to be bad news. For patients with a poor prognosis due to another tumor elsewhere in the body, my advice is to stick to annual monitoring. Diagnosis and treatment offer little benefit but can be an additional burden for the patient. For patients with a good prognosis, it makes sense to further investigate this spot. If the spot is malignant, we intervene. We carefully consider the risks and benefits of treatment together with the patient. While writing my thesis, I noticed that I really missed having contact with patients. I have since started working as a junior doctor at the Amsterdam BovenIJ Hospital."
Marceline will defend her thesis on November 16.
prof. dr. M.R. Vriens
I. van der Ploeg & dr. J.P. de Boer