So here's how it works - in simple terms.
For the thyroid to work properly it needs iodine. With the help of iodine the thyroid produces T4 which is then converted into T3 by every cell in ones body. The rate at which this happens is often referred to as our metabolic rate. People with an under-active thyroid (hypothyroidism) do not produce enough hormone and therefore take T4 or as it is usually known thyroxine.
My thyroid has been completely removed and therefore I will need thyroid hormone replacement for the rest of my life. I am currently having T3 because it has a much shorter half-life than T4, one day as opposed to one week and this makes my cancer treatment less drawn out.
Tomorrow is the start of my LID (low iodine diet) and T3 withdrawal. By doing these two things I will set my body up in the best possible way for the radioactive iodine to work. Basically any remaining thyroid tissue/cells, cancerous or not, which could be anywhere in my body, will by the end of two weeks be desperate for iodine in order to function normally. When I then swallow the radioactive iodine (RAI) capsule (I-131) on Monday 14th November (all being well) the cells will suck up the radioactive iodine and be destroyed - ha ha!!! This is called RAI ablation.
This, in my opinion, is the most impressive and targeted treatment that I am aware of for cancer and was discovered by accident apparently in the 1940s in an atomic research laboratory - praise God I say.
A few days after taking the destroyer pill I will have a whole body scan (WBS) which will indicate where any remaining cells are hiding. This I believe will also determine whether or not I have to have a repeat of RAI treatment next year.
There, hope that helps.
I have met another lady on the Macmillan forum who is local and been through nearly exactly the same as me over the last few months, seeing exactly the same consultants etc. and she had her RAI treatment last week in the "prison". I am hoping to meet up with her before mine as she says she has some top tips - sounds good and intriguing... Turns out she's a Christian too.
Have had a strange moment this evening. Fell asleep in the bathroom whilst my beauty was having her bath and awoke very suddenly feeling very peculiar, not sure what that was all about - not nice. Made me feel anxious about coming off the drugs. I'm also worried that I might forget what I am not allowed to eat. I have some food ready but probably not enough and I'm not so sure that my beauty is going to be up for it all, so will no doubt be doing her sausages and her other favourites whilst I have to go without - can't see it's going to be easy, prayers welcomed!
Enough of all that, pottery tomorrow then a good talk with my talking lady will probably help enormously.
Sleep tight
x
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