A Healthcare Communications Student Gets an Education as a Patient

When Carly Flumer was 27 and working on her master’s degree in healthcare communication, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Though she was successfully treated for the cancer, she now must live with the consequences of having had her thyroid removed, which requires lifelong care and treatment. The experience turned Flumer into a patient advocate as she has sought to share her story with others. We spoke to Flumer about her cancer journey, her experience in dealing with physicians who often spoke to her in terms she didn’t understand, and what she’d like other rare disease patients to learn from her experience.