The news of my Whole Body Scan yesterday was different than what I was originally given on Nov. 2, 2012. The nurse who called me with the results just relayed the message wrong, or maybe I understood her wrong. She said there was still active Thyroid Tissue in my neck. She said I would do another treatment in 6 months, but I would meet with the Doctor on November 19th for further explaining. There was/is still Thyroid Tissue in my neck, but the I-131 did what it was expected to do. My Doctor explained it yesterday, but was very rushed, and I was still a bit confused. My parents and Jeremy explained it in more detail to me last night
I was given the I-131 Pill on Oct. 23, 2012
Radioactive iodine therapy (also called radioiodine therapy) uses radioactive iodine (I-131) to destroy thyroid cancer cells anywhere in the body. The therapy usually is given by mouth (liquid or capsules). The intestine absorbs the I-131, which flows through the bloodstream and collects in thyroid cells. Thyroid cancer cells remaining in the neck and those that have spread to other parts of the body are killed when they absorb I-131. Most radiation is gone in a few days. Within 3 weeks, only traces of radioactive iodine remain in the body.
(1) The goal of radioactive iodine can vary depending on the patient to whom it is given, but in general it is given for the following: to decrease the risk of recurrence of your cancer by treating any remaining cancer cells and/or tissue left behind after your surgery.
(2) To improve the long-term survival of some patients with thyroid cancer.
(3) To treat and/or detect any thyroid cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. The detection portion requires a whole body scan, which is always done after treatment with radioactive iodine. “Ablating” (eliminating) any remaining normal thyroid tissue may also make future treatments for thyroid cancer more effective.
(4) To aid your doctor in the ability to detect recurrent disease.
So the point of me having the I-131 pill was to kill of any remaining Thyroid Tissue that may have cancerous cells
Here is my Whole Body Scan Findings:
There is activity over the face, neck and abdomen. There is activity in the bladder. On the 9 day delayed images the position of the GI tract activity has changed confirming this is physiologic. There is persistent abnormal activity over the neck compatible with Thyroid Cancer.
What does all this mean? Well, to my understanding...............
The activity in my bladder was the Radioactive Iodine. It gets absorbed in your bloodstream, and empties out of you through your urine. When it says position had changed in the GI Tract it shows that it was just moving along on it's course out of my body. So....no worries about there being Thyroid Cancer Cells in my bladder.
The activity in my face was my Salivary Glands. The Radiation absorbs there as well, and will then exit through secretions over 3 weeks. The majority of the Radiation goes out through your urine.
There is persistent abnormal activity over the neck compatible with Thyroid Cancer........This means that the I-131 was doing what it was supposed to do. There was still remaining Thyroid Tissue in my neck(my Doctor said this was expected). The surgeon had told us that he gets 99% of the Thyroid out, and 1% of tissue is left behind. This is why I did the I-131 treatment. It would go in and kill off that 1% left that may have cancerous cells in it. So, in my scan my neck area lit up. This showed that the radiation had uptake in my neck area, meaning it went to the remaining Thyroid Tissue. The hope is that it kills off any active thyroid tissue left.
So.....for now I need to rest assured that the Radioactive Iodine was/is doing it's job. It went where it needed to go. Killing off remaining Thyroid Tissue that may still carry cancerous cells.
My current Doctor wants to do my next scan in 6 months. When I have my next scan(I will be given a very small dose of I-131 which would light up what they call hot spots). If no hot spots show up, that is great news. Means all of the thyroid tissue has been killed. If there is any light up, then we will go onto another treatment phase. If that scan shows no uptake, meaning there was no tissue it needed to kill, then I will most likely be able to go down to 1 scan a year. I will have yearly scans the rest of my life.
I take Synthroid everyday. After thyroid cancer surgery, you'll take the thyroid hormone medication levothyroxine (Levothroid, Synthroid, others) for life. This pill has two benefits: It supplies the missing hormone your thyroid would normally produce, and it suppresses the production of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) from your pituitary gland. High TSH levels could conceivably stimulate any remaining cancer cells to grow.
Now, Jeremy and I will find me a new doctor. It's always good to get a second opinion, plus, I just want someone with a different disposition. Hopefully one who doesn't seem so rushed to get to next patient! We also want to make sure waiting 6 months before doing another scan is the right thing to do.
I will not know anything until my my next scan. Knowing the Radiation was doing it's job gives me peace of mind. Hoping and praying it did it's job, that all Thyroid Cancer Cells are killed off for good!
I am looking forward to a fun Thanksgiving with family, kicking off a wonderful Holiday Season where we have much fun events planned, and so many blessing to be so very GRATEFUL for!!!
Thank You for all the Love and Prayers!
Wishing all a Happy Thanksgiving!
