Thyroid Cancer

Mechthild Schmid Sawallisch, 77, wife of Philadelphia Orchestra music director Wolfgang Sawallisch, died on the morning of Christmas Eve near her home in Grassau, Germany. Sawallisch had been recovering from treatment for thyroid cancer since summer, but a sudden decline forced her husband to rush her to a hospital in the nearby town of Traunstein, the Orchestra announced yesterday. Sawallisch was a friendly and gracious presence, always at her husband's side. Their relationship was unique, for she acted as his confidante, musical critic and companion.

DETROIT - Anna Fionda, a hairstylist who occupied the first chair at Edwin Paul Salon in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., for 27 years, drove herself to the hospital emergency room on Valentine's Day 2010. She was queasy, dehydrated, and feverish. The next thing she remembers is waking up in a hospital bed on March 13. She had developed a bacterial infection, which led to septic shock, and her body had shunted blood away from her appendages to save her vital organs and brain. Her limbs were black up to her elbows and knees.

Mark DiUbaldo plays for a Radnor football team that rarely wins, but that does not matter most to the Raiders' junior center. That he plays at all is the most important thing for a 16-year-old who sat out last season after learning he had thyroid cancer. "I watch him out there and I get choked up," said Sam DiUbaldo, Mark's father and a Radnor assistant coach. "It makes me cry. I'm real proud of him. " DiUbaldo expected to play last season, but a nagging back injury from freshman lacrosse would not go away.

Government officials have now confirmed what they strongly suspected a year ago: The radioactive iodine-131 in some of the region's waterways, also found in minute amounts in Philadelphia's drinking water, is coming from thyroid patients. After patients swallow the chemical in capsule or liquid form, some of it passes into their urine, which then enters the wastewater-treatment system and winds up in rivers that provide drinking water, the officials said. Philadelphia's water is safe, according to officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Philadelphia Water Department, and the city Department of Health.

"DANCING WITH THE STARS" co-host Brooke Burke says she has thyroid cancer. Burke posted a video message Thursday on YouTube disclosing her condition and her plans for surgery to remove her thyroid. The 41-year-old mother of four says a lump on her thyroid was found during a routine biopsy. She says in the video that her surgery will leave "a nice big scar right here," tracing a line across her throat. All kidding aside, Tattle had a thyroidectomy at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania seven or eight years ago. With a good surgeon, the scar heals so well, you can't even see it anymore.

GOOD NEWS for DJ Too Tuff , of the legendary Philly hip-hop act Tuff Crew . He's off probation. Too Tuff, born Joseph Hicks , was released from jail earlier this year - he was sentenced on an assault charge stemming from a fight at Silk City (5th & Spring Garden) while on parole for weed possession. Now that he's free to travel, Too Tuff can join fellow original Tuff Crew members LA Kidd , Ice Dog and Tone Love for a European tour in March, when the group will play Paris, Denmark, Wales, London and Amsterdam, performing some of their hits and new material.

William Hubbs Rehnquist, the 16th chief justice of the United States and leader of sweeping efforts to curb federal power and expand state authority, died last night, ending a nearly yearlong fight with thyroid cancer. Court officials said Justice Rehnquist, who was 80, died at his home in Arlington, Va., surrounded by his three adult children. His death ends one of the 20th century's most distinguished Supreme Court careers - one that lasted 33 years - and is likely to touch off a heavily financed and bitterly partisan battle over his replacement.

Laura Ladden believes that she has found the correct balance among motherhood, her job as a schoolteacher, and tournament competition, and that's bad news for the best players in the Women's Golf Association of Philadelphia. Ladden, 32, proved her dominance again this week, finishing up her run yesterday with a 12-and-10 victory over Alison Shoemaker at Rolling Green Golf and Country Club to win the Glenna Collett Vare Cup for the seventh time. Ladden, of Penn Oaks, was steady if not spectacular during the scheduled 36-hole match.

It's hard not to like Jessie Gemerek's competitive spirit. The Gloucester Catholic junior softball star has 28 hits and has scored 13 runs this season to go along with a .444 batting average and an on-base percentage of .541. The leftfielder also has 81 career hits, a lofty number for just a third-year player. All those accomplishments pale when compared to her greatest achievement. The 17-year-old beat thyroid cancer. "I just tried to stay upbeat," Gemerek said of her six-month recovery.

When Frances Steele of Malvern found out she had cancer nearly three years ago, she was drinking coffee, eating sugar and consuming a lot of meat. After surgery, she underwent radiation treatment to try to keep the thyroid cancer from spreading. But it ended up in her lungs. A friend gave her a book about diet and cancer, and she followed its advice. When she last returned to her doctor, she said, he wondered why the cancer had not grown. "When I go back in September, it will be gone," said Steele, 56, who is convinced that she will win her battle against the disease.