Now her oldest child, Amarzaya Boldbaatar, 12, has a good chance for survival thanks to the efforts of Utah doctors and medical centers.

Two years ago, Amarzaya underwent surgery to remove a tumor protruding from her neck, but the thyroid cancer returned.

"It was terrible. She is my only daughter," Chuluunbat said through an interpreter. "I would have taken the sickness instead of my daughter."

Fortunately, her mother heard about and contacted Gary Gibbons, a Logan ear, nose and throat specialist who was serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mongolia.

Gibbons tried to help her, but it wasn't until he returned to Utah that he was able to arrange the procedures that potentially will save her life.

His colleagues, Jeffrey Bennion and Jim Blotter, also ear, nose and throat doctors, agreed to do the surgery and remove the tumor. Doctors from Interwest Anesthesia in Logan provided the service.

Removal of the tumor was completed Jan. 26, and Salt Lake Regional Medical Center and GammaWest Brachytherapy are helping with postoperative care. Leland Rogers of GammaWest Brachytherapy performed radiation therapy on March 1 at no cost. The girl was treated with a radioactive iodine, which is the only curative treatment for advanced thyroid cancer.

"Thyroid cancer is very curable and it is a pleasure for me to treat Amarzaya and help her to overcome her cancer," Rogers said. "She has an excellent chance of being cured."

Gibbons opened his home to Amarzaya and her mother for their six-week stay. He also will work to ensure the girl receives thyroid replacement medicine, which she will need the rest of her life. She will be evaluated and have her blood tested every three to six months, and Gibbons will receive copies of her results.

Amarzaya has been recovering and isolated because of the radioactivity for much of her time in America. But she did get to have some fun horseback riding, watching people ski at Beaver Mountain, being entertained by the Disney Channel and touring a dairy farm.

"You feel like you'd like to try to help everyone in the world, but you can't," Gibbons said. "It just makes you grateful you can help one or two."

The thyroid controls metabolism, affecting moods, weight, fertility and organs such as the heart and brain.

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine-related cancer. Most cases don't cause any symptoms, and only rarely cause pain, difficulty in swallowing or hoarseness. The disease is most common in people who have a history of exposure of the thyroid gland to radiation, have a family history of thyroid cancer or are older than 40.

"It was amazing that people would reach out and help us in a Third World country," Chuluunbat said. "It was like a miracle happened."

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Contact Carey Hamilton at chamilton@sltrib.com or 801-257-8605. Send comments to livingeditor@sltrib.com.