my body scan for my thyroid cancer was this morning. i've been on a low-iodine diet since last saturday. and i think i've dropped at least 4 lbs. all i eat is fruit and veggies. i'm allowed up to 5 oz of meat/day. i'm always hungry. it sucks, i'm dying for a big piece of brie with crackers. ugh.
so here's what the scan entails:
early april, i see my endocrinologist with results from a recent blood test for my thyroid hormone levels just to make sure i'm ok in the medication department. then we schedule appointments for my thyrogen injections, I-131 pill and then the body scan. and i have to start this low-iodine diet 10 days before the scan.
22 april, i start my low-iodine diet. i buy a big container of fresh, pre-cut fruit from costco. then i pick up some fresh and frozen veggies from trader joe's. one thing, i can have alcohol! woo hoo!!
26 april, first thyrogen injection in the right upper butt cheek. i know, eek. but first, i get weighed and since the last time i was weighed (early april, see above), i'm 4 lbs lighter. i think it's the diet. i've cut out all processed foods. anyway, i go in to see my endocrinologist but i don't see him. i see him the next day so i don't have to pay my copay until the next time. nice. i have to stand on one leg and they inject the thyrogen in the side of the butt cheek of the leg i'm not putting pressure on. it hurts a bit and is sore for a while.
27 april, second thyrogen injection in the left upper butt cheek. so, i get these injections to trick my body into thinking i have no thyroid hormones in my body. that way, when i have the body scan, it doesn't detect the hormones and confuses it with cancerous thyroid cells. previously, patients were required to be taken off of the meds and went through hell. at least that's what i'm told. i never had to go through it. thank goodness.
28 april, 131 iodine pill. thyroid cells are the only cells in your body that absorb iodine. this body scan is specifically for thyroid cancer as it scans for iodine cells. basically, the iodine is like a dye that gets soaked up by thyroid cells. getting the 131 pill requires to fast starting at midnight the night before. oh and i had to go in for a blood test before the pill.
today, 1 may (can't believe it's already may), the whole body scan. i went in at 8a. they give me sour candy (lemon drops) to stimulate my salivary glands. then i lay down on the scan which they set up nicely with pillows and blankets. about 45 minutes or so, the top of the scan, which has these cameras in it, comes down about an inch from my body and scans my whole body very slowly. since i'm not allowed to move, i fall in and out of sleep during this time. after the body scan, my neck is scanned for about 10 minutes, then they put this plate beneath my head and scan me for another 5 minutes. finally, my nuclear medicine doctor reads the charts and tells me if i'm okay or not.
and today, i'm okay! two more years until i am cured! yay!
