“Take one tablet once a day.” The prescription reads like a verdict sentencing me to a life of pharmacy. Tucked away in the top of my backpack hides a tiny pillbox of shame needed to keep me healthy. “Stop being so melodramatic. Lots of people are hypothyroid; it’s one of the most common hormonal imbalances.” My friend Julia brings me back to reality. In the wake of successful chemotherapy and radiation treatments, my thyroid (a gland in the neck responsible for producing hormones that regulate metabolism) became underactive. It happened so gradually it was hard to perceive a change. Probing…