radioactive iodine therapy
so… as a final step on my thyroid cancer agenda, i begin radioactive iodine therapy tomorrow morning.
did you know that your thyroid glands absorb nearly all of the iodine in your body? so, when radioactive iodine (RAI), also known as I-131, is taken into the body in liquid or capsule form, it concentrates on thyroid cells. the radiation can destroy the thyroid gland and any other thyroid cells (including cancer cells) that take up iodine, with little effect on the rest of your body. most of my thyroid was removed in the two surgeries i had, but we know from recent blood work that some cancerous thyroid cells remain – the RAI will destroy them.
for RAI therapy to be most effective, patients must have high levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH or thyrotropin) in the blood. this substance stimulates thyroid tissue (and cancer cells) to take up radioactive iodine. since my thyroid has been removed, one way to raise TSH levels is to not take thyroid hormone pills for several weeks. this causes very low thyroid hormone levels (a condition known as hypothyroidism), which in turn causes the pituitary gland to release more TSH. this intentional hypothyroidism is temporary, but it often causes symptoms like tiredness, depression, weight gain, muscle aches, and reduced concentration. sounds lovely, right?
my body will give off radiation for some time after i receive RAI therapy. so, from May 31st – June 3rd i will be locked in my bedroom “isolation room” to prevent others from being exposed to the radiation. thank goodness i have so many episodes of this to watch! ::winks:: and of course – my computer + a stack of books will be with me. i’m telling myself this is great – three days to relax, and rest… what mom doesn’t want that?!? only, if you know me — i am going to go CRAZY! i LOVE being non-stop busy. i will be dying to go to hot yoga, dying to go to the gym, dying to get outside. i am attempting to get most of our packing for the upcoming move done so i won’t be impatient to be busy preparing us to leave. and, it’s the most beautiful time of year — i’m going to miss an entire weekend/three days with friends and family out and about in boston!!! ugh.
of course – the sacrifice of being isolated is totally worth it. i should be cancer-free after RAI therapy.
thyroid cancer patients with papillary or follicular thyroid cancer {what i have} usually receive a dose of radioactive iodine (RAI) about two months after their surgery in an attempt to destroy any remaining thyroid cells in their bodies.
following RAI therapy, i will undergo a whole-body radioiodine scan in early june. if my scan is not “clean,” i will then receive treatment with a larger dose of RAI in an attempt to eliminate remaining thyroid cells. but it seems one treatment of RAI therapy should work for me.
in preparation for the RAI scan and RAI treatment, i will begin a low-iodine diet (LID) tomorrow morning at the same time that i stop taking my hormone medication. the purpose of a low-iodine diet is to deplete the body of its stores of iodine, to help increase the effectiveness of the radioactive iodine scan/treatment. the premise is that when the radioactive iodine is administered, the thyroid cells will “suck” up the iodine, because the body has been so depleted.
so, wish me luck. husband is currently traveling for work, i am planning to mentally ignore the symptoms i am supposed to experience. i plan on going about life like none of this is happening. ::smiles::
if any of you have recommendations for quick & easy low-iodine meals, i’d love to hear. i did three days of the blue print cleanse this past week to prep my body for this, and i plan on doing it again during the time i’m on the diet, because it’s low-iodine it will be an easy way to follow the diet for three of the ten days.
i am so close to being cancer-free!
remember: my thyroid nodule was discovered during an annual physical two years ago. take care of your body. go to the doctor.
xoxo.
