Radiant

I have to share a little story before I detail the info we learned at the oncologist meeting ealier this week. Since my diagnosis, I have made a point to avoid getting sucked into internet research on the subject of thyroid cancer because 1) I knew I'd never emerge from the computer room again and my children would be running around the house eating Oreos for lunch while I poured over thousands of comments on the thyroid cancer chat rooms and 2) there's so much hearsay ("my friend's cousin's neighbor had thyroid cancer and she....") that can really bring you down when dealing with any major health issue. The web is a double-edged sword that way and so far, I've chosen to not pick it up.

I did, however, read one article about the controversy over how long a person should be isolated after taking the radioactive pill. Up until that time, I had felt ZERO anxiety about any of this. But the article raised fears in my mind about possibly doing something to harm the kids, since they are most susceptible to the radiation. I began to get that gnawing knot in my stomach and thoughts of hiding in a cabin in the woods for 2 months began to seem like a reasonable way to isolate myself after taking the pill. I knew the door had been cracked open just enough to let the devil in, so I immediately went to one of my favorite devotionals and you'll never guess what I flipped open to (I could hardly believe it myself!) It was Psalm 34. Not one that I usually read in times of trouble (Psalm 91 is my go-to passage when I am facing a difficulty.) But as I read verses 4-5, I immediately knew that everything was going to be just fine. I was once again reminded that God is already there in the 'what lies ahead' and He knows of my concern for the kids, pets and hubby when it comes to this radiation stuff. Those verses brought my confidence back and sent the tresspasser fleeing.

I read with incredulity these words: "I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame." What are the chances I'd flip to that passage just as I was worrying about radiation? But God's like that. Amazing.

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Bob and I met with the radioactive-oncologist (Dr. H) and got educated on the process of ablating my remaining thyroid. Dr. H said that stages of thyroid cancer is determined by age, not growth size. I had stage 1 papillary carcinoma because of my age. Interesting. And he also said that you have to try really hard to die from it....it's that predictable and responds very, very well to this treatment. I've spoken with a few people now who have dealt with it and they are sharing their stories with me 20 years after the fact. So those were all comforting details to learn.

Dr. H explained that the strength of the RI pill is based on how 'hungry' the remaining thyroid is for iodine. If it's barely functioning, then he'll use a lower dose pill, measured at 30 millicuries (a measurement of radioactivity). If the thyroid is still uptaking fairly well, then he can use the stronger dose at 100 millicuries. The stronger dose is more desirable because it really wipes out (ablates) the thyroid/cancer. However, if my remaining thyroid isn't doing a good job of uptaking idoine, then there's no sense in using the stronger dose since it wouldn't be sucked up to the thyroid and would instead be left to roam around my body. In that case, the weaker dose would be used so that unnecessary radioactive material isn't introduced into my system. The overall benefit of the 100 dose is that I wouldn't need to repeat the process in 6 months. If I take the 30 dose, I'll do another test in 6 months to see if the entire thyroid was ablated and if not, another round of RI will be ordered to finish the job. So that's how my dosing is determined.

Once we get approval from insurance and I have the uptake test, I'll go on a no-iodine diet for a week or so. It's very important to remove as much iodine from the body as possible so that the Thyrogen shots can create the super-hunger before the pill is taken and all that hunger is focused in the thyroid. If there is iodine elsewhere in my body, that will lessen the pill's effectiveness and radioactivity will be drawn to all the places where iodine is found and not solely to the thyroid. There's not much to eat on a no-iodine diet, but I'm good at following doctor's orders, especially in a situation as essential as this, so I don't expect that to be a problem for me.
My biggest question/concern was how to handle the isolation period. I wanted to make sure I really understood how the radioactivity was going to exit my body and how long I'll need to stay away from the kids especially. Dr. H said that the kind of radiation used in this treatment (I-131) is NOT emitted, but rather excreted. Any fluids coming out will contain the radioactivity...sweat, saliva and well, pee pee (to use the term we call it around here!) Sitting on a chair won't make it radioactive, but putting a sweaty palm on it will. So I'll have to limit what I touch and will need to wear clothing/gloves when I touch things that are necessary. We talked about half-lives and how to clean things that would unavoidably come in contact with fluids (sinks, toilets, showers, etc.) He also said it will be important to drink lots of water and eat lots of sour, saliva-producing candies to encourage my body to eliminate fluids. A build-up of the radioactivity can lead to some problems, so doing whatever possible to get things flushed out is a good thing. Water obviously will clear out the intestines/bladder. Lemonheads and Sour Patch candies will keep the saliva glands flushed. Who would have thought that sour candy would be part of a cancer-fighting regimine?

After 4 days (I'm planning 5-6), the kids can return and I can go back to our normal routine, although I'm sure I'll stretch it a bit more and have Bob do the hands-on stuff, just to make me more comfortable with the idea of reintegrating them into the house. So we're planning another vacation for the kids at Grandma's house (for Grandma, vacation comes the following week ;-)
That's the latest update on what comes next. As Dr. H said, his hope is that he'll see me the day I take the RI pill and then he won't see me ever again. We feel no reason to expect anything else and are once again so thankful for all the blessings that we continue to encounter on this little life detour. I'll post another update once I have the schedule firmed up, hopefully sometime next week. In the meantime, our prayers are centered on strong results from the uptake test and a continued smooth pace for the family in general. We're doing a good job of keeping things pretty normal. Summer is in full-swing and that fact alone keeps us busy as bees. While I'm waiting for more medical info to pass along, I'll post some pix from June, so check back soon!