Radio-Iodine Treatment 05/31/06

On Wednesday, 05/31/06, I received a 156 mCi dose of I-131 radio-iodine. This is the second treatment dose administered in less than a year; the last dose was 100 mCi. I am scheduled for a follow-up scan and blood tests on 06/08/06, which will hopefully show the doctors what areas were taken up by the radio-iodine and the impact on my white blood cells, platelets, etc. It will take a number of months though to determine how effective the treatment was, and how much cancer is still prevalent.

I was released from the hospital Thursday morning after being cleared by radiation safety. I'm not sure the unit of measure, but the geiger counter reading immediately after the dose was 27, and it has to be 14 or below before being discharged. My reading went down to 8 by Thursday morning.

The only side effects I've noticed from the treatment is mild nausea, change in taste, and dry mouth. This is similar to the last treatment, and the side effects were temporary. One of the consent forms I had to sign prior to the treatment was acknowledgement that repeated doses of radio-iodine can cause secondary leukemia. The dosimetry process helps minimize this potential impact though by calculating what dose is "safe" for each patient.

I am grateful to be off of the diet and back on the thyroid hormone. It will still take a couple of weeks to feel "normal" again though. In the meantime, I've been maintaining safe distances from everyone and have been sleeping a lot. I look forward to regaining my strength, so I can enjoy the summer with my family!