Save Your Thyroid with Jennifer Holkem

Most patients with low-risk papillary thyroid cancer are told there are two paths: surgery, or active surveillance. In this quick update, I'm sharing news of a first-in-human clinical trial that's testing whether there's a third option.

Researchers at Sarasota Memorial Health Care System and MD Anderson Cancer Center are evaluating nsPFA (nanosecond pulsed field ablation) — already FDA-cleared for benign thyroid nodules &m...

The question this community has been asking since nsPFA first appeared on this podcast has finally been answered.

Does it last?

Professor Stefano Spiezia conducted the first-in-human feasibility study of nsPFA for benign thyroid nodules — and in 2026 he presented the durability data at the NASIT annual meeting in Portland, Oregon. Average 74% volume reduction at up to 22 months. Zero regrowth. Zero serious adverse event...

"Well, better get it taken out."

That was the entire conversation after my thyroid biopsy. Then I waited six weeks for pathology — six weeks so frightening I didn't tell my own parents, and spent researching cancer treatments for a disease I didn't have.

Not one person told me that most thyroid nodules are benign.

If you've just been told you have a thyroid nodule, this episode is the information nobody handed me. No...

What if the surgeon sitting across from you told you that your thyroid cancer is not urgent — and that you have time to think, research, and explore all your options before committing to anything?

That's exactly what Dr. Melanie Goldfarb tells her patients. And she's an endocrine surgeon.

Dr. Goldfarb is a fellowship-trained endocrine surgeon, Professor of Surgery, and Director of the Center for Endocrine Tumors and Dis...

Most patients diagnosed with a thyroid nodule are offered two options: watch it or remove it. Andy Manos, PA-C is on a mission to make sure a third option reaches every community in the country.

As a physician assistant and VP of Internal Growth at North Star Vascular Interventional in Minneapolis, Andy performs thyroid radiofrequency ablation in a community-based interventional radiology clinic — no hospital required, no ...

If your thyroid biopsy came back inconclusive — Bethesda 3 or 4 — you may have been told surgery is your only option. But for decades, over 70% of those surgeries revealed nodules that were actually benign.

There's a better way. It's called molecular testing. And today's guest literally helped prove it works.

Dr. Joshua Klopper is the Medical Director for Endocrinology at Veracyte and a nationally recognized thyro...

How do you know if the doctor performing your thyroid RFA is truly qualified?

It's the question every patient asks — and until now, there hasn't been a clear answer. A medical license isn't enough. General board certification isn't enough. And with RFA growing rapidly in the US, the gap between trained specialists and general providers is becoming a real patient safety issue.

That's exactly why two of the most accomplis...

What does the future of thyroid care look like when the person describing it helped build the present?

Dr. Eren Berber is a Professor of Surgery and Director of Robotic Endocrine Surgery at Cleveland Clinic. He performed some of the first robotic thyroid operations in the United States, brought thyroid RFA to Ohio, and has authored more than 350 scientific papers. He has spent his entire career at the forefront of thyroid innova...

Navigating an Indeterminate Thyroid Nodule Diagnosis with Chelsie Paulson

What do you do when your thyroid biopsy results leave you with more questions than answers? In this episode of Save Your Thyroid, I am joined by Chelsie Paulson, a vocal advocate and active member of our patient community. After an Afirma molecular test came back with a 50/50 inconclusive result, Chelsie was told that removing her thyroid was her only opti...

Can you shrink a thyroid nodule by 82% while keeping your thyroid intact? In today’s episode, I am joined by Emily Saska, a patient who refused to accept a total thyroidectomy as her only option. When Emily discovered an "angry," rapidly growing 3.8cm thyroid nodule, she was steered toward the operating room. Instead, she chose a "needle off the record" moment and sought out nsPFA (nanosecond Pulsed Field Ablation).

Join u...

Are you being told that a thyroidectomy is your only option for a growing thyroid nodule? Dr. Ian Orozco is here to change that with the launch of his new private practice, The Thyroid Institute of Utah.

In this episode of Save Your Thyroid, we are challenging the status quo of traditional thyroid care and exploring the minimally invasive revolution of Interventional Endocrinology. Join host Jennifer Holkem as she sits down with...

Episode Title: Trading the Scalpel for a Needle: Thyroid RFA with Surgeon Dr. Jacques Gaudet

Episode Summary:

What happens when a highly trained Head and Neck Surgeon decides that the best tool for a thyroid nodule isn't a scalpel?

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Jacques Gaudet, a board-certified Otolaryngologist at Southern ENT Associates. Dr. Gaudet shares his journey from training in the resource-scarce aftermath of H...

Can You Shrink a Massive Goiter Without Surgery? Anne’s TAE Success Story

Can a grapefruit-sized goiter be treated without a total thyroidectomy? In this episode of Save Your Thyroid, Jennifer Holkem sits down with Anne Moeller to discuss her transformative journey undergoing Thyroid Artery Embolization (TAE). After being told her large multinodular goiter required major surgery, Anne advocated for an organ-preserving alte...

100 Cases! Dr. Emad Kandil Discusses nPulse Thyroid Nodule Ablation

Can you treat a thyroid nodule without heat or surgery? In this milestone episode of Save Your Thyroid, Jennifer Holkem welcomes back pioneer Dr. Emad Kandil, Chief of Endocrine Surgery at Tulane University, to celebrate a massive clinical achievement: completing over 100 cases using nPulse™ nanosecond Pulsed Field Ablation (nsPFA).

While Radiofrequency Ablat...

Can you shrink a large thyroid goiter without surgery? In today’s episode of Save Your Thyroid, Jennifer Holkem sits down with Tosin, a patient who successfully treated a complex multinodular goiter using an innovative, nonsurgical procedure called Thyroid Arterial Embolization (TAE).

If you’ve been told that a total thyroidectomy is your only option for a large or complex goiter, this conversation is for you. Tosin ...

Are you struggling with thyroid nodules or hypothyroidism despite "normal" labs and a clean diet? It’s time to stop looking at the thyroid as the culprit and start looking at it as the victim of a mineral crisis.

In this episode of Save Your Thyroid, Jennifer Holkem sits down with Morley Robbins, the medical historian behind the Root Cause Protocol and author of Cu-RE Your Fatigue. Morley brings the "receipts"—thousands ...

Most people are told that if a thyroid goiter is "too large" or has "dived" into the chest, the only option is a total thyroidectomy—often involving a sternotomy (cracking the chest bone) to reach the tissue. In today’s episode, I sit down with Matthew Ashby, who faced exactly this crossroads. Matthew shares his powerful journey of navigating a massive multinodular goiter, the "silent" symptoms that began to impact his ...

Are you being told your thyroid goiter is too large for Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) and that surgery is your only option? In this first episode SEASON 7 of Save Your Thyroid, Jennifer Holkem sits down with Dr. Juan Camacho, a leader in Interventional Radiology at Radiology Associates of Florida/Sarasota Memorial, to discuss a game-changing nonsurgical treatment: Pressure-Enabled Thyroid Artery Embolization (PED-TAE).

While RFA...

The Future of Thyroid Treatment: Advanced RFA, Microcarcinoma, and Taiwan's "One-Stop Shop" Model 🇹🇼

This episode of Save Your Thyroid unveils the groundbreaking world of Thyroid Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA). Host Jennifer Holkem speaks with Dr. Chan Jung Chang, an expert Otolaryngologist from Taiwan, about the future of non-surgical thyroid treatment for both thyroid nodules and papillary thyroid microcarcinoma.

Dr. Chang...