Tag: radioactive iodine therapy

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Cancer Family & Friends Health

Cancer Recurrence Tests

I am being tested this week for any traces of thyroid cancer that may be remaining, or for a recurrence.  I’ve had to put this test off for 6 months, so I’m very glad I’m doing it now, but with any type of cancer test- it’s a little scary too. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect or really what the process was while I was scheduling it.  The nurse at my endocrinologist kept telling me it was a week long process. I am finding out as I go along.  I wanted to share the process for others who will be facing the same test.

On the first two days, Monday and today, I had an injection of the drug, Thyrogen at 8 in the morning.  Thyrogen is used to test the blood for a hormone called thyroglobulin (Tg), which can indicate cancer.  Before Thyrogen, to test for  Tg levels, a patient would have to stop taking any thyroid medication such as Synthroid for six weeks, and become hypothyroid.  I was hypothyroid for almost thirteen weeks after my surgery, and it was one of the most difficult times in my life.  Needless to say, I’m very happy I was able to have Thyrogen.

The shots themselves weren’t bad.  Just more inconvenient than anything.  The nurse I was scheduled with on Monday was 3o minutes late, and I had a tight schedule that morning. I started thinking it was a bad sign, and worries crept in.  I forced myself to think positive thoughts.  The injections were given to me below the hip, pretty much in my gluteal muscles.  I had Cole with me on Monday, and he thought it was very funny Mom got a shot there. 

The rest of the day on Monday, I felt great. I felt like I normally do.  With Daylight Savings having just started, it was light out when I got home from work with the boys, and I ran a fast one mile.  A few hours after the shot on Tuesday, I started feeling sick.  I was very nauseous, and I had a bad headache.  I felt extremely tired too.  The nausea came and went.  I fortunately was off of work for the day so I was able to rest and take it easier. 

On Wednesday I have to take a dose of radio active iodine in preparation for the full body scan on Thursday.  The dose is very small and there are no restrictions on being around other people or children after I take the dose.  The letter the nuclear medicine department sent me said the radiation dose I’ll be taking is less than what is in a standard x-ray.  I am optimistic I won’t have any side effects.  I have a 15 minute appointment with the doctor, take the pill at the nuclear medicine department, and then drive back to work. 

On Thursday in the afternoon, I have a full body scan.  This is where they will be able to see any “hot” spots, or thyroid cells in my body which can indicate cancer.  The entire appointment is about 45 minutes, but I don’t like the scans.  I have always felt claustrophobic in the machine, and I hate sitting there waiting for it.  So this is the day I’m dreading the most in the process.  My good friend, Amy, is pretty sure she will be able to come with me, and I’ll be very grateful for her presence. 

On Friday morning, I have to have blood drawn, so they can do blood work. The nurse reminded me today how important this step is. She said she has patients all the time that do the entire week, but then don’t have their blood drawn, and she says it is a complete waste.  They won’t have accurate results without the blood work. 

After all of this, I have to wait until next week for the results.  I know I will be thinking of all the “what if’s” during this time, but I am going to try really hard to think of all the positives- like the type of thyroid cancer I had, has about a 3% recurrence rate.  I still feel better physically than I ever have in my life, have never had to have a Synthroid medication adjustment, and the last test I had the Tg level was undetectable.  The odds are definitely in my favor that I am fine, and these tests will confirm that. 

Please think good thoughts for me during the next week, as I do the same for myself.  If anyone wants to add their experience with their thyroid recurrence tests, feel free to do so in the comments.  I’d be interested in hearing how it went for others.

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Cancer Cole Family & Friends Health Mothering Parenting Ryan School

The End of Summer

As the sun streamed into my room this morning, I couldn’t help but be happy.  A week ago, I said good-bye to my boys expecting to see them in four days.  It turned into a week, because of the radioactive iodine therapy I underwent on Monday for thyroid cancer. 

Initially, I was going to have Cole for the day, and then pick up Ryan later from his grandparent’s house, but as it turned out- I ended up with both boys, and I couldn’t believe how much they had changed in a week!  They both looked older, and I think they both grew at least an inch during the past week.  It was so good to hug and kiss them- this was the longest amount of time I have ever been away from my children.

The day was beautiful, and I took them to the park.  I am so thankful I have energy again, and could actually play with them.  At one point, Cole came up to me, and asked me to hold him.  I picked him up, sat down with him, held him close to me, and kissed the top of his head.  A few moments later, Ryan sat down next to me, and wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me.  I held him too, and the three of us sat there- reconnecting.

I have had an enormous amount of guilt this last week, regarding this summer and the boys.  This is the last summer we had before Ryan starts kindergarten- a rite of passage- and in my mind, the end of an era for us.  The days of Ryan being at home for the majority of the week, are almost done. He is starting his school career.  I had such plans for the boys and I, for this summer- before I fully realized the impact the cancer surgery, recovery, and treatment was going to take. 

I wanted the summer to be special for them- I wanted them to remember swimming, ice cream and watermelon- not that their mommy had cancer.   But when something like cancer happens, it stops all plans- there is nothing you can do, but start taking it one day at a time.  I had to sacrifice this summer so I could have the autumns, winters, springs, and summers in the future with them.  I wanted to tell them I was sorry- sorry that they had deal with something like this at such a young age. 

As we sat there on the bench in the park, and I held them close to me, it reminded me that the only thing the boys really need from me is my love.  I told them how much I loved them, how proud I was of them, and I was finally feeling better.  The boys told me they loved me too, and Ryan said he could tell “by my face” that I was feeling better.  Then they scooted off of me- the moment was over- and ran to the swings.

I felt it in the air this morning, the coolness- the trace of crispness in the air.  The air isn’t quite summer morning air, but is autumn whispering its approaching presence in the background.  Some things in life are constant- children growing, sickness, health, and love.  My boys will remember this was the summer I was sick with cancer, but they will also remember my love for them, and the love from their family and friends.  That is what matters. 

As this summer slips away, much like childhood, a beautiful, golden autumn will emerge finally- one morning at a time.

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Cancer Family & Friends Health low iodine diet Me Parenting

Thyroid Cancer-D-Day!

I am so happy today!  Today is the the day I finally can take synthroid- the thyroid replacement hormone.  It will have been just two days under two months, since I have been without any thyroid hormones in my body.  I took my first one at 7AM.  I will have to take this medication for the rest of my life. 

The doctors tell me it is not a quick fix, and it is a gradual return to feeling better and normal.  So I am not expecting to take one synthroid and be back to my “old self” but after this long of being in the hypothyroidism state,  I am hopeful  today the downwards trend I have been experiencing for the last eight weeks stops.  It is very rare for the first dosage to be correct, so I am expecting to have to go through a few dosage adjustments as well. 

My doctor also prescribed cytomel for two weeks, to “jump start” my system. I didn’t wake up one day and feel this tired, this fatigued- it was a definite gradual downward change- every day was a little worse than the last, so I am hoping that with feeling better it will be the same.  As long as I feel a little better than the day before, I’ll feel like I am heading in the right direction.  I have to have my blood tested in six weeks to check the dosage, but if I don’t feel better after a few days, I will be calling the endocrinologist.  

Today is also the day I stop the low iodine diet.  It was nice to eat so many fresh foods and vegetables- I am going to try to keep that part of the diet going, but it will be nice to have some milk with cereal, tea again, and I have been craving  homemade popcorn with lots of butter on it.  🙂  I found the hardest part of the diet was just preparing the foods since I have been in the hypothyroidism state for so long.

I received my radioactive iodine therapy (in the form of a pill) on Monday, and  I am radioactive as I write this.  I can be around adults no more than 30 minutes at a time, but can’t place myself in a general population where there would be children, until Thursday.  However, the nuclear medicine doctor, who administered the pill, strongly suggested that I am not around my boys for five to seven days.  She said because of their ages, their cells are much more vulnerable to radioactivity, and it is hard for them to not climb on me, and keep an arms distance away.

I thought I was going to be able to see the boys on Thursday, and I am very sad and miss them like crazy, but under the circumstances, I agree with her.  I don’t want to put my boys at risk and in the grand scheme of things, two more days is worth it, if it eliminates the risk they will be exposed to radiation.  Their dad and his family have been taking care of the boys, and Ryan and Cole have been having a lot of fun. 

I have been at home- really having no energy to do much.  I have been reading, catching up on some paperwork, and I took a very short walk yesterday.  It’s kind of weird thinking of myself being quarantined, but since I have very little energy I don’t feel like going anywhere.

This has really been the hardest thing I have ever had to do, physically.   No energy, fatigue, no mental energy- that is how my body felt physically for so many weeks. 

My family and friends told me to hang in there and not give up- there is light at the end of the tunnel. So many people told me I am stronger than I know.  I didn’t believe them- I certainly didn’t feel strong. In fact, these last two months,  is the weakest I have ever been, physically and mentally. But I learned there is nothing wrong with being weak- I can’t do it all- no one can, and being weak allowed me to accept this. Being at my weakest for so long, showed me that I am stronger than I knew, stronger than I believed. 

I feel like today is my new beginning.  I am finally at the end of this tunnel- and I just don’t see the light, I am in the light.   I have discovered, that I am strong, but there is no shame in being weak either.  Others could see that in me, and now I see it for myself.  But more importantly, today, I believe it.

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Cancer Cooking Health low iodine diet Me

Low Iodine Diet Food & Information

I can’t write much, but a picture speaks a thousand words.  The boys’ dad watched them for the weekend, and my dad took me shopping for low iodine food for the week.  Then he helped me chop, dice, and grilled the chicken and meat.  This was all recommended to be done before I was in the hypothyroidism state, so it was very difficult to get it done, but we did. 

The diet says you can eat meat you prepare yourself, and as many fruit and veggies,  as you want (no soy), but I can’t get enough protein from the fruits and veggies I need, so having the meat will help me immensely with my energy level for the week.   

The website that I got some of the recipes from (you can download their free cookbook), and read up on the low iodine diet, is ThyCa– (Thyroid Cancer Survivors Association).  I found it to be very helpful, and so far the recipes have turned out great. One good tip they had was to read the labels.  We started to buy some organic ingredients, but found the organic black beans for instant, had sea salt in them, which is worse than just regular salt, because sea salt is higher in iodine.  I would have never had know that, if I had not read through their information.

 Here is a picture of most of the low iodine food we were able to prepare:

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I would have never been able to do it without the help of my and my boys’ family, so thank you.  I am still waiting to hear when I can take the thyroid replacement hormone.  Until I can take it, I am not going to start feeling better, but as of today there is only one week to go on the low iodine diet.

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Cancer Family & Friends Health Me Mothering

Thyroid Cancer- Low Iodine Diet & Waiting for Radioactive Iodine Treatment

This past week has been a nightmare- an absolutely awful nightmare.  I don’t even know where to begin. 

As I wrote previously, my surgeon said one of the proactive things I could do before having my thyroidectomy and neck dissection was make an appointment with an endocrinologist.  So I did.  One he recommended at one of the hospitals in my state, Colorado, with an excellent reputation. 

When I made the appointment back in MAY, I specifically pointed out to the scheduler, that my surgery was June 12th, and the appointment with the endocrinologist wasn’t until this past Tuesday- July 21st.  She assured me that was fine.  I asked her again- that six weeks wasn’t too long to go.  She told me again, it was fine.  These are the “experts” so I figured I was in good hands.

Six weeks later I am a hormonal, emotional, tired, wiped out mess.  I feel like I have aged 50 years in the past six weeks.  Evidently the hormone your thyroid produces regulates all kinds of bodily functions- like energy levels, emotions, metabolism, memory, concentration- just to name a few.  When I met with the endocrinologist on Tuesday, Dr. S., (another Dr. S.) she was shocked to find out I had not been on any thyroid hormone since my surgery.  She looked at me and said, “My god, I bet you feel like crap.”  That is one part they did get right.  She told me they would rush my radioactive iodine treatment (RAI).  Only problem- I haven’t been on a low iodine diet. 

I called a week after my surgery and asked this same office if I should be on a low iodine diet.  They told me no- I would receive all that information at my appointment. I pointed out again, that I had a six week time frame, and they told me it was fine.  I’d learn everything about the diet during my appointment. 

Since I can no longer manage this mess by myself, my sister, Vanessa, called bothered them until she got the person on the line that could help.  That is how we found out the scheduler had “old” information.  The treatment coordinator, B., told her I could have received RAI three weeks after surgery, but I have to be on the low iodine diet now for ten days.  I could have started the diet the week I called to ask them about the low iodine diet, and have had all of this behind me.  But now I have almost two more weeks of “feeling like crap” and trying to figure out a diet and what I can and can’t eat. Vanessa expressed the displeasure this has caused me, and the state I am in.   B. apologized and sent me a personal e-mail apologizing as well.  Vanessa scheduled the RAI treatment for me, for August 3. 

I am so mad and beyond frustrated at this hospital.  I talked to a friend who is a nurse,  who told me this is negligence, and there is no excuse for something like this happening.  But, what can I do?  It isn’t B.’s fault.  It is one of those nightmare things that you never imagine will happen to you, but it does.  So somehow, my family and I have to get through the next 2 weeks to make it to the appointment where I can receive the RAI treatment.

I still don’t know how long after the RAI treatment I have to wait until I can receive the replacement thyroid hormone.  As it is now, it will be 8 weeks and counting.  In the meantime, I am losing more energy every day, my boys are suffering, and I am missing work. 

I am having a hard time with this blog post.  I said I was taking a break from it two weeks ago, but then I said I wasn’t, but I am going to be forced to now.  I mentally and physically do not have the energy to write much until I am finally on the thyroid replacement hormone.  For now, what energy I do have, I have to put into my boys and into my health. I will try to post quick updates on Twitter when I can. 

I appreciate any thoughts and prayers you can send my way- two weeks seems like an eternity right now, but there is nothing left to do, except get through them.  Thanks again to everyone for all their support, love, and help. I literally could not do this without my family and friends.  Love you all. 

Heather