(Episode #86) Thyroid RFA comes to Canada: Dr. Jesse Pasternak

Today’s guess is Dr. Jesse Pasternak, an academic surgeon and patient advocate. He is the chief of Endocrine Surgery in the Division of General Surgery at the University Health Network and Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto.  His career’s focus is to use up-to-date data to push innovation in the treatment of surgical endocrinology.  He is responsible for bringing radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of thyroid nodules to Canada.  He is chair of the research committee at the American Thyroid Association and currently runs a trial to treat small thyroid cancers with RFA.  He hopes to gain an understanding for cancer outcomes but likely more importantly, the effect of treatment and cancer worry on quality of life and survivorship.  He has 3 young kids, all of whom learned where the thyroid was before mastering the head, shoulders, knees and toes.