Today, I met with an endocrinologist who will be overseeing my treatment from this point on. He explained that based on the type of cancer I had on my thyroid (papillary carcinoma) and the fact that it didn’t appear to have spread, the prognosis is extremely good.
The next step will be for me to meet with the nuclear medicine specialist who will eventually administer radioactive iodine to me. That appointment has not yet been scheduled, but is expected to take place in the next couple of weeks. After that meeting, I’ll most likely be placed on an iodine-restricted diet, designed to make any thyroid or cancer cells remaining after surgery starved for iodine. Then, when the radioactive iodine is administered, they’ll grab up all they can get and die out.
As I understand it, for 5 days after taking the iodine, I’m to minimize my exposure to other people to prevent the radiation from affecting them. If you’re curious as to what those restrictions might be, there are other web sites that can tell you.
Once we’ve done that treatment, I’ll start taking synthetic thyroid hormone. The challenge will be to determine the correct dosage for me, as each person is a little different. Once that’s settled, I’ll have annual checks to see if the cancer has returned.
