Let's Get Cooking!

Quick Update: I spoke with the specialty pharmacy today which will be supplying the Thyrogen shots that I take 2 days prior to the iodine pill. They have cleared insurance (praise!) and should arrive at the drs. office in a few days. I'm now playing phone tag with the oncologist's office to see what the schedule for the rest of the pre-pill testing is. I need to do an uptake test, but am not sure if that can happen now or after the Thyrogen. Because this protocol is newer, not everyone is sure of the schedule, so I've been getting some confusing reports. Prayers are for the right information to be given so there are no setbacks with the schedule and also for insurance to pay for the radiation pill. I've heard it is very costly without insurance, so we are taking that need to the throne and are thanking God for His providence while we wait to hear about that part of the expenses. So far we've been very blessed to have everything covered at 80/20. Last year I had a crown done with no dental insurance (long story...grrrr!) and it cost more than my surgery did! So we are very grateful for Bob's job and the good coverage we have with it.

This post is for the friends/family who have offered to make a meal while I'm going through the RI treatment. Thanks in advance for keeping my tummy full and our family happy!

As mentioned earlier, removing as much iodine from my system BEFORE I take the RI pill is important so that all the radioactive iodine will go to my thyroid and not to other points in my body. For that reason, I'm required to be on a low-iodine diet one week before the pill and then about a week afterward. The Thyroid Cancer Survivor website (ThyCa.org) has a great cookbook for this purpose. The website also explains what foods are prohibited, which are OK in small amounts and which are fine in any quantity. If you're going to be cooking a meal or bringing some snacks, please read through that introductory information to get a sense for exactly what is prohibited (some of the stuff is surprising, like marischino cherries, because of the red dye they contain! Drat...I love to eat marischino cherries.)

The most important request is to make sure the salt being used is NON-IODIZED.

I went through the cookbook and picked out several recipes that didn't require any special ingredients. I'll list them below. There are also some side items that would be helpful to have, such as the homemade spaghetti sauce and peanut butter, breads/muffins which can be made and frozen ahead of time and good old fresh fruit/veggies that can be used to snack on.

I'm also happy to report that wine is on the approved list of foods, since I'm sure I'll need a big glass of that by the end of 2 weeks ;-)

Thanks once again for your help with this important part of my treatment and let me know if you have any questions about the restrictions/recipes.

www.thyca.org/index.htm
Click on "low iodine diet" on the left hand column to access the summary and recipes.

Pages 7-14 give the basics of how to make these recipes and what to be aware of in terms of iodine. That's a good section to read.

Here is the list of recipes I picked out from the cookbook. These are the numbers from the Table of Contents pages (2-5).

Breads:
Cinnamon Bread 70
Fruit Quick Bread 74
Orange Muffins / Apple Muffins 75
Banana Coconut Bread 76

Sauces/Spreads:
Fresh Tomato Sauce 53
or
Spaghetti Sauce 53
Fruit Glaze 54
Peanut Butter 64

Veggies/Fruit
Fresh fruit/veggies (see list)
Sweet Potato/Apple/Cranberry Bake 60
Really Easy Sweet Potato 60
Mixed Greens with Strawberry Dressing 15
Spanish Potato Salad (no skin allowed) 17

Meat/Dinners:
Easy Pot Roast 22
Sweet Apple Chicken 28
Pasta with Chicken and Peppers 35
Garlic Lime Chicken 36
Easy Peach/Apricot Pork 41

In Him,