Treatment Still on Schedule
So far, so good. My radio-iodine treatment is still on schedule, and I will be admitted to the hospital this Wednesday, 05/31/2006. It looks like I will not need any surgery prior to the treatment, although there is still a "hot spot" in the neck region.
Thank you for all the prayers for strength. When the doctors saw me on Monday, they expected that I would be in a wheelchair based on my blood test results and being hypothyroid. The average TSH level for a "normal" person is 1.0. When a thyroid cancer patient goes through withdrawal of the thyroid hormone in preparation for the radio-iodine treatment, the TSH level is expected to rise to 30 or 40. My TSH level was over 135! The doctors were even more surprised when they found out I had been driving. They asked that I give them a courtesy call when I get behind the wheel of my car : ) Seriously though, through your prayers I have been able to work from home after my daily trips to the hospital.
I've had to isolate myself for several days this week from the family, as I have been "radioactive". The tracer dose of I-131 radio-iodine administered on Monday, 05/22/2006 was only about 2 mCi. The treatment dose that I receive this Wednesday will be much larger, probably between 100 and 200 mCi.
This will be my 2nd round of radio-iodine treatment, and the nuclear medicine director agreed that it would not be the last round. The tumors are still taking up the radio-iodine though, which makes the cancer very treatable. The doctors will continue to administer as many treatments as necessary until I receive a "clean scan".
I look forward to returning to a normal diet and the thyroid hormone upon my discharge from the hospital. I'll probably be in the hospital for 1-2 days and will need to isolate myself from everyone for 5-7 days after discharge. Despite having been on the low-iodine diet for several weeks, I have not lost any weight. For those that know me, you know that this is great news! I thank my wife for all her hard work and effort to prepare meals that conformed to the diet, but that were still quite delicious. I don't know how she managed to make a chocolate fudge cake without any milk, eggs, or butter.
Thanks again for all the prayers and encouragement to our family during this time.
Thank you for all the prayers for strength. When the doctors saw me on Monday, they expected that I would be in a wheelchair based on my blood test results and being hypothyroid. The average TSH level for a "normal" person is 1.0. When a thyroid cancer patient goes through withdrawal of the thyroid hormone in preparation for the radio-iodine treatment, the TSH level is expected to rise to 30 or 40. My TSH level was over 135! The doctors were even more surprised when they found out I had been driving. They asked that I give them a courtesy call when I get behind the wheel of my car : ) Seriously though, through your prayers I have been able to work from home after my daily trips to the hospital.
I've had to isolate myself for several days this week from the family, as I have been "radioactive". The tracer dose of I-131 radio-iodine administered on Monday, 05/22/2006 was only about 2 mCi. The treatment dose that I receive this Wednesday will be much larger, probably between 100 and 200 mCi.
This will be my 2nd round of radio-iodine treatment, and the nuclear medicine director agreed that it would not be the last round. The tumors are still taking up the radio-iodine though, which makes the cancer very treatable. The doctors will continue to administer as many treatments as necessary until I receive a "clean scan".
I look forward to returning to a normal diet and the thyroid hormone upon my discharge from the hospital. I'll probably be in the hospital for 1-2 days and will need to isolate myself from everyone for 5-7 days after discharge. Despite having been on the low-iodine diet for several weeks, I have not lost any weight. For those that know me, you know that this is great news! I thank my wife for all her hard work and effort to prepare meals that conformed to the diet, but that were still quite delicious. I don't know how she managed to make a chocolate fudge cake without any milk, eggs, or butter.
Thanks again for all the prayers and encouragement to our family during this time.
posted by Chris at 4:45 PM
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