I couldn't wait any longer for the appointment with my endocriniologist at IPO (the national oncology institute and hospital in Portugal) that had been scheduled on the 14th of September. You see...I had still been holding out some hope that the analysis of my thyroid would show that it was a false positive and that I did not have tyhroid cancer after all. The reality was I had known for several years that I would most likely have to eventually have my thyroid removed as I had already been diagnosed with multinodular goiter. If my diagnosis turned out to be false positive, losing my thyroid would just have happened sooner rather than later. My hope had actually been rekndled at my last birthday party in June, when the boyfriend of one of my friends (and students) shouted out that he thought that my diagnosis would turn out to be false positive. His well-meaning comment ignited this flame of new hope for me, even though I had found out shortly before my birthday that the problem seemed to have metastasized to the surrounding lymph nodes. Still..a false positive verdict was possible - however unlkely.
Despite the fact that I now know that the diagnosis is definitely not false positive, I appreciated that hope and I still do. Having had difficulty waiting till the 14th, I finally sent an email to my endocrinologist on the 1st of September, asking him to let me know when he got the results back from the lab. I said that I wanted to know if I happened to be 'one of the lucky five percent' who find out they are false positive. In his email back, the doctor told me that I would indeed need the radiactive iodine treatment (RAI). So much for all this being for naught! But thank you anyway, Pedro (the boyfriend of my friend)!! Your comment gave me many moments of calm serenity, hope, and some overall happy daydreaming time. That, of course, means a great deal.
Well, I have since seen the endocriniologist in person and now know that almost all of the many nodules on my thyroid were cancerous as well as the surrounding lymph nodes. The doctor said the dosages of RAI ( the isotope 1-131) that they give are usually in dosages of 30, 100, or 150 millicuries. They will give me 100 millcuries. What I have since read is that the typical dosages range from 30 millicuries to 100 millicuries but that sometimes the dose is higher (100 to 200 millicuries) for people with more extensive disease. I seem to be at the high end of the typical spectrum but that, I was told, is because the lymph nodes had been affected.
I will return to the hospital to take my dose of radiation on October 5th. I will stay in the hospital for two days in isolation. My goal there will be to drink as much water and lemonade as possible to then elliminate it from my body. It turns out my habit of drinking four plus litres of water per day will come in handy. I can definitely increase that by a couple of more litres - easy!
I also found out that I will only need to be in semi-isolation when I get home and that that would probably need to last for about five to seven days. I can go for walks and such. I will need to sleep in a seperate bedroom and should use a separate bathroom. I need to stay away from Evan pretty much completely and Cláudia prefers that I stay away from her as well. No touching or hugging, etc. Basically, I will live in the guest bedroom for the week. At night I plan to dress up as Spider Woman and fight crime. May as well...I will be radioactive after all.
Despite the fact that I now know that the diagnosis is definitely not false positive, I appreciated that hope and I still do. Having had difficulty waiting till the 14th, I finally sent an email to my endocrinologist on the 1st of September, asking him to let me know when he got the results back from the lab. I said that I wanted to know if I happened to be 'one of the lucky five percent' who find out they are false positive. In his email back, the doctor told me that I would indeed need the radiactive iodine treatment (RAI). So much for all this being for naught! But thank you anyway, Pedro (the boyfriend of my friend)!! Your comment gave me many moments of calm serenity, hope, and some overall happy daydreaming time. That, of course, means a great deal.
Well, I have since seen the endocriniologist in person and now know that almost all of the many nodules on my thyroid were cancerous as well as the surrounding lymph nodes. The doctor said the dosages of RAI ( the isotope 1-131) that they give are usually in dosages of 30, 100, or 150 millicuries. They will give me 100 millcuries. What I have since read is that the typical dosages range from 30 millicuries to 100 millicuries but that sometimes the dose is higher (100 to 200 millicuries) for people with more extensive disease. I seem to be at the high end of the typical spectrum but that, I was told, is because the lymph nodes had been affected.
I will return to the hospital to take my dose of radiation on October 5th. I will stay in the hospital for two days in isolation. My goal there will be to drink as much water and lemonade as possible to then elliminate it from my body. It turns out my habit of drinking four plus litres of water per day will come in handy. I can definitely increase that by a couple of more litres - easy!
I also found out that I will only need to be in semi-isolation when I get home and that that would probably need to last for about five to seven days. I can go for walks and such. I will need to sleep in a seperate bedroom and should use a separate bathroom. I need to stay away from Evan pretty much completely and Cláudia prefers that I stay away from her as well. No touching or hugging, etc. Basically, I will live in the guest bedroom for the week. At night I plan to dress up as Spider Woman and fight crime. May as well...I will be radioactive after all.