My Experience

I had thyroid cancer and during the surgery to remove the thyroid, the surgeon found that the cancer had spread to 19 lymph nodes. He removed the lymph nodes as well and scheduled a follow-up scan and radiation. This follow up included swallowing a radiation pill.

About one month prior to the scheduled ingestion of a radiation pill, it was necessary to discontinue taking the thyroid drug, a synthetic version of the thyroid hormone, and 12 days before the radiation treatment I was put on a low iodine diet. The objective was to make me hypothyroid and to create a situation where the body would literally suck in iodine that was laced with radiation. The doctor would first give me low-grade radiation pills to swallow so that it would be absorbed by any thyroid cancer cells remaining and become observable on a full body scan. Based upon the results of this scan, the doctors would then determine the dosage for the radiation pill I would take in order to destroy or “zap” any such cancer cells and to deter the growth of any such cells which were not “lit up” by the scan.

The low-iodine diet was not pleasant in that I could not have any dairy products, processed foods or seafood of any kind. On any one day I was not supposed to eat more than 6 ounces of any meat of any kind, (whether beef, chicken, pork, etc.) The only bread I could eat was bread baked without salt as there was no way of knowing whether iodized salt was used. As a result, eating was very dull and unsatisfying.

As a result of not taking the thyroid hormone replacement pill, I found myself lacking energy and needing a nap most afternoons. I also had and continue to have constriction of my fingers and contraction of some muscles in the form of spasm caused by the lack of calcium and/or the body’s inability to properly metabolize calcium. Hopefully, upon getting back to regularly taking the thyroid medication, this problem will be alleviated.

Three days before the ingestion of the radiation pill, I came as an outpatient to the hospital and took seven diagnostic radioactive pills. There were no side effects, and I felt fine. I also had a blood test that day, and it was pain-free because of expert administration.

The next day I had a full body scan. It is like having an X-ray; you lie on a machine that moves under a camera-like box. There are no insertions of any tubes and no pinging sounds. The camera was about 2 inches above me, and there was no pain or discomfort with the scan.