Thyroid Cancer Therapy

Question: I need financial assistance for my radioactive iodine therapy. I am a first stage cancer of the thyroid.? I am papillary carcinoma cancer stage 1 and I need an immediate medication. Radioactive iodine therapy (RAI) is very expensive for me. I am in need of financial assistance or a sponsor that could help me for the said therapy. I was operated for a total thyrodictomy.

Answer: I'm sorry to hear that you have cancer. I had the same kind and had my thyroid removed as well. I don't know about the hospital writing off the bill. Usually they'll try to charge you no matter what and possibly send you to collections. I would try to invest in health insurance. You will need to be on medication for the rest of your life and the medication will likely be expensive without it.

Question: Anyone had difficulty getting pregnant after thyroid cancer? I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer about 3 years ago and did the surgery and radiation therapy afterwards. My thyroglobin levels are still undetectable. I have four daughters and would like to get pregnant again. We have been TTC on and off for the past year (husband was out of the country for part of it). With my daughters all I had to do was think about getting pregnant and it would basically happen...this time it's just not working. My TSH levels are very supressed (.001) and I'm wondering if this is my problem. Any advice?

Answer: I got pregnant pretty easily after thyroid cancer. First child conceived in 3 months, second child conceived on the first attempt. Usually endos want to keep TSH suppressed to 0.1. Your TSH is really suppressed. I conceived both of my kids with a TSH of 0.1 and Free T4 at 1.8. Thyroid cancer totally changed my menstrual cycle. I used to have a 31 day cycle with ovulation occurring on Cycle Day 17. Now my cycles are 38 days and I ovulate on Cycle day 24. Since ovulation is delayed by 1 week, I had to adjust my "baby dancing" by 1 week to increase odds of conception. I used fertilityfriend.com to chart my cycles along with ovulation predictor kits and a basal body temperature thermometer. If you haven't charted, I would highly recommend it. If you don't know how, you should read "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. First step is confirming that you are in fact ovulating. Next step is to try to predict when you're going to ovulate so you can time it properly. Good luck. mari

Question: Can you get a tattoo if you have had thyroid cancer? My daughter is a thyroid cancer patient who is wanting to get a tattoo. She was diagnosed in September 2007, had a total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine therapy. She currently takes Synthroid every day. I was just wondering if anyone knows if getting a tattoo would affect her Synthorid in any way or possibly affect any future tests she might undergo - i.e. body scan, MRI, etc? Thanks for your help.

Answer: I'm on Levoxl for mine. Not much difference Getting a tattoo won't affect her Synthroid in any way. Her biggest problem would be an infection from the actual tattoo or needle. But they always use a new sterile needle from one customer to the other. So don't worry, One has nothing to do with the other. Glad she's ok. I know what she went through. I didn't have the radioactive iodine therapy though. I wouldn't know what that's like. I wish her the best. Blessings

Question: Which is best hospital for Anaplastic thyroid cancer in India ? Can some one guide which one is the best clinic/hospital for Anaplastic throat cancer ? Surgery has been done and 30 sittings of IMRT (Radaitaion therapy) provided to the patient, yet doctor is not sure for long life ?

Answer: TATA Memorial Hospital - Mumbai.(best & they are dedicated)

Question: I am a thyroid papillary cancer stage 1, is there other way to heal aside the radioactive iodine therapy?

Answer: Papillary cancer has the best prognosis of all thyroid cancers. Stage I means the cancer is self contained and has not spread beyond the confines of the tumor capsule. That is EXCELLENT news for you! I-131 whole body radiation is given to ablate, or destroy, the remaining thyroid cancer cells that surgery was unable to remove. Because thyroid cancer cells convert iodine to produce thryoid hormone, they readily "take up" radioactive iodine and are killed from the radiation. This provides the best chance at complete erradication of the cancer. In addition to surgery and I-131 ablation, most thyroid cancer is treated by "suppressing" the TSH levels below normal. TSH acts to stimulate the growth and production of thyroid hormone. By suppressing the TSH level, any remaining thyroid cells and/or thyroid cancer cells not killed by the radiation are kept in an inactive state. The current guidelines recommend the TSH be suppressed below 0.1 Remember, it only takes one cancer cell to grow and divide into a million cancer cells. Thyroid cancer is one of the easiest cancers to cure. Do everything possible to keep your cancer in check. Good luck!!

Question: Is it possible to get thyroid cancer again, even once it's removed? I had papillairy micro-carcinomas in both left and right lobes. They only discovered them after the surgery while analysing the nodules. I had the operation in 2006 and just got my file from that hospital a couple of months ago as another hospital requested it. They never bothered to tell me the findings which I find pretty lame. I wasn't given radioactive iodine therapy after - could there be a chance of cancer cells recurring?

Answer: First of all, that is insane that they never gave you the results! Didn't you have a follow up with your surgeon? Didn't you have your cancer staged? It is possible to get thyroid cancer after you had your thyroid removed. There are many different factors that increase your risk for a recurrence of thyroid cancer, so you would have to talk to your doctor about your own risk factors. Some people don't need Radioactive Iodine and since micro-carcinomas are less than 1 cm, a good portion don't need it. If it didn't metastasize to your lymph nodes, you might have a lesser risk of recurrence. Anything is possible, your doctor would be best at giving you your risk of recurrence.

Question: how long after having thyroid cancer will i fall pregnant if at all? i had my thyroid taken out in june 2006 had radio active iodine therapy in july will this stop me from conceiving

Answer: Your suppose to wait a while to try to get pregnant after radioactive iodine. I do not recall the exact time, but 6 months seems to come to mind. So if it was July 2006, you should be fine now. If you become pregnant your thyroid medication will need to be regulated more carefully, the amount you need changes while you are pregnant.

Question: Thyroid cancer questions Advice? I just found out that my dad has thyroid cancer. It's to the point where it's enlarged and of course I'm worried. My question is how safe is the radioactive iodine therapy? He said that it could get rid of his thyroid but it could also kill him. His immune system is also going to be suppressed which I gather is normal course of action. He didn't mention surgery as of yet but I guess that will come with time. Serious answers only please. Thanks.

Answer: The Radiation treatment is called Oblation Therapy, that is usually done first. It destroys the thyroid and hopefully the cancer itself. It is very safe, radioactive Iodine has a very short half life. It is often a one shot deal like drinking a glass of orange juice and that's it. More advanced treatment could involve a more or longer regime of radiation RX. such as an implant but again not to worry, short half live and keep your distance, the radiologist will explain more. Surgery, maybe, it depends on whether or not it has gone to local or regional lymph nodes. It would not be the treatment but the possible spread of the disease that could cause further problems and possibly shorten your fathers future life span. Eye problems can sometimes occur with this type of problem but they pass not long after treatment and are sometimes the first symptom of a thyroid problem, they can be somewhat to severely disconcerting to the person but again they will pass. Hope this helps a little. Again try not to worry and be as supportive of him as you can I am shure he is as worried about you as much as he is scared for him self but this type of thing is very curable now adays. If you have more questions or concerns contact me. prospero5157@sbcglobal.net I forgot to add that he will have to take a Thyroid supplement for the rest of his life since his body will no longer produce it naturally but that's no big thing. There is another site you could go to called Web MD that's pretty good esp if to help you to ask the doctor's the right questions that you both might want to have answered. Fore warned is fore armed as they say and sometimes doctor's skim over things so the more knowledge you have the better at least in the asking of your questions to give your self a better understanding of whats going on and what to expect.

Question: Is radio active iodine safe for thyroid cancer? After thyroidectomy, doctor advises to go for radio active iodine therapy. Basically not sure whether he has really cancer or doctors and labs made it up for money. When being cheated this way how can we assure to take leaga action about this kind of cheating!

Answer: Don't mess with this kind of business. Would you want him to die, and because you weren't sure whether you should believe the doc? Why not get a second opinion? And, a third if needed. Don't mention the surgery/cancer to someone else, if you can, and see what the outcome is. In case you're interested, here's some information about myself. Also, below are some links, including excellent sites about thyroid cancer & more. I have low thyroid. I have had it for 10 years. I came about after I had my second child. Most people can do well, but myself, if I even miss a day or two, I get super tired, and VERY cranky. My body literally ate up my thyroid...it's almost non-existent. I am on 300mg of levoxyrothin. If you have low thyroid...here's a great question to answer: Can you see the floor of your house? That was what was asked of me at one point, and to my amazement, the answer was no! Anyway, the signs are:fatigue and lack of energy. Women suffering from underactive thyroid experience heavier menstrual periods. Sluggishness and forgetfulness are symptoms of underactive thyroid problem. Other symptoms of this thyroid disorder are dry skin and hair and constipation. If you have high thyroid, or an overactive one, the signs are: increased body metabolism. This is followed by weight loss and excessive warmth and sweating. Persons suffering from overactive thyroid experience trembling hands, irritability and rapid heartbeat or palpitations. Women with overactive thyroid or hyperthyroidism may experience shorter or lighter menstrual periods. I take medication, and sadly will have to take 1 pill everyday for the rest of my life. There's a blood check that they will do to see if you have low or high. I hope i've helped you!!

Question: Thyroid Cancer after surgery? My mom was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and is having surgery tomorrow. I know that she needs to go through therapy after the surgery but what is the therapy like specifically? And how long will it take her to come back to her "normal healthy" state?

Answer: Follow up treatment will depend on which type of thyroid cancer she has and the extent of the cancer (if it was encapsulated, it it spread to surrounding lymph nodes, or if there was distant spread). Papillary and Follicular Thyroid cancers uptake iodine, so Radioactive Iodine (RAI) is typically used to ablate or kill any microscopic thyroid tissue that surgery could not remove. Generally, RAI is given 4-6 weeks after a thyroidectomy, that insures that the TSH is very high (hypothyroid) since she won't have a thyroid and won't be one medicine. She will get a tracer dose, then scans, then based on that, a larger treatment dose, then another set of scans. A low iodine diet (LID) is usually suggested for 14 days prior to RAI, that way you deprive your cells of iodine and they (in theory) will be hungry for the Radioactive Iodine and overdose on it. RAI involves drinking (or swallowing a pill) iodine that is radioactive. There are some side effects, like nausea, headaches, swollen salivary glands, and loss of taste (usually temporary). She will have to follow different precautions (stay away from people, use plastic utensils, etc) in order to keep people safe and not contaminate everything. You generally have to wait 6-12 months in order to see if the treatment works. If your mom has Medullary thyroid cancer, the follow up to surgery would be external beam radiation. What ever type she has, she will have to be on Synthroid (or equivelent) to make TSH, since she won't anymore. It usually takes 6 weeks for the medicine to be fully working. Sometimes the dose won't be correct the first time, so she might have them adjust it. I encourage your mom, as well as you, to inform yourselves about thyroid cancer and everything that comes along with it. http://www.thyca.org This site is so wonderful, it explains everything and you can always call or email someone (who know what you're dealing with) if you ever have a question. Good luck! I'm praying for a speedy recovery!

Question: Getting over thyroid cancer? i was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer. i had surgery to remove the entire thyroid and lymph nodes surrounding it. we are now onto the radioactive iodine treatment to kill the remaining pieces of thyroid that are usually left behind from surgery. i took the pills yesterday and this morning i started my period. it is very dark (almost looks black) and i was wondering if it was just a side effect of the therapy or if i should call the doctor about it. my family is very nervous about the whole ordeal (understandable) but hey want me to call the doctor about every little thing that they think could be a "serious side effect" (ex. the nausea, sore/swollen salivary glands, etc that i have) thanks for any help...

Answer: Call your doctor. Cancer is nothing to fool around with and you cannot second guess anything . .your life depends on it. It may be a side effect or it may be something more serious, only a doctor will be able to tell you satisfactorily. Don't delay, call as soon as possible and describe exactly what has happened. He may want to see you for an examination.

Question: Thyroid cancer(Ca) papillary? Hello All, My father is suffered from Papillary Ca of Thyroid and had a Total thyroid Dectomy 25 June 2009. He is on zero Iodine diet from 4 July 2009 and didn't take any hormone generating tables (eltroxin) from since. He has also done with diagnosis scan on 10 Aug 2009 and his proposed radio active iodine therapy on the date 14 Sep 2009. But he is feels very loose , feeling of vomiting and has bodayache ( swelling on the face) and feels very tired. So, thats good for him to stay till 14 Sep 2009 because we didn't get any date before 14th. Is the complication increase due to increase in his TSH level ? Is there any issue related to life threating ? I am also contacting other hospitals to give us appointment before 14 SEP. It would be great if you share your thoughts from my questions.

Answer: There's no need for you father to be on a ZERO iodine diet since July 4th! Preparing for Radioactive Iodine means you should go on a LOW iodine diet, not a NO iodine diet. This is a "diet" you follow for 14 days, not weeks or months. He is most likely feeling all those symptoms due to lack of nutrition and hypothyriodism. Consult your doctor for advice. A high TSH WILL make you feel tired and bloated, he shouldn't do to many strenuous activities. These issues are most likely not life threatening, the Eltroxin will bring the TSH back near normal and all the symptoms will subside. Check out this website http://www.thyca.org/ , it is extremely helpful for getting all the info about Thyroid cancer and the treatments.

Question: What does radiopharmaceutical uptake from a bone scan mean? I had thyroid cancer a year ago with successful removal of left thyroid and radiation iodine therapy on the right one. Since then, I have a bone scan every six months with the last three findings stating a triangular collection of radiopharmaceutical uptake present in the upper neck. And that there is activity in the salivary glands.

Answer: If you have concers you should talk to your oncologest or your general MD. Radiopharmacology is the study and preparation of radiopharmaceuticals, which are radioactive pharmaceuticals. Radiopharmaceuticals are used in the field of nuclear medicine as tracers in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases. Many radiopharmaceuticals use technetium (Tc-99m). In the book Technetium by Klaus Schwochau, 31 different radiopharmaceuticals based on Tc-99m are listed for imaging and functional studies of the brain, myocardium, thyroid, lungs, liver, gallbladder, kidneys, skeleton, blood and tumors.

Question: My mothher was diagnosed with Aaplastic throat cancer. She underwent surgery too and then 25 sittings of IMRT? My mother aged 54 years is staying in India and getting treatment at Bangalore. She had a swelled neck for a no of years. She was recetly dignosed for Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer in Bangalore city of India. Doctor performed surgery and provides radio therapy 2 times a week since last 4-5 months. He opines that despite medical treatment, he does not know how long my mom's life is. He says 'keep ur fingers crossed'. Of course, it triggers trauma for me and my siblings. I sincerly request you to guide me how to save my mother's life. Which one is the best clinic or best doctor to treat Anaplastic cancer ?If India has no option,in USA, where should I go ?

Answer: Sanjay, I am so sorry to hear this about your mom. Have you tried prayer? You know prayer is a very strong tool when things are out of our control!! I feel for you and your siblings and if you all are wanting to bring her to the USA for more treatment....I would suggest MD Anderson, Houston, Texas! It is one of the top hospitals for cancer. They really are on the "cutting edge" scientifically, with cancer. I have a cousin, she is now fighting her third bout of cancer. This time, it came back beside her spine! A very dangerous place for this to be! Her docotrs gave up on her here! However, she went to MD A nderson and she is doing well! So, yes, I have a family member who has turned to them as well. I will be praying for you, your Mom and your siblings. May God bless you and guide you!

Question: My mother was diagnosed with Anaplastic throat cancer. She underwent surgery too and then 25 sittings of IMRT? My mother aged 54 years is staying in India and getting treatment at Bangalore. She had a swelled neck for a no of years. She was recetly dignosed for Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer in Bangalore city of India. Doctor performed surgery and provides radio therapy 2 times a week since last 4-5 months. He opines that despite medical treatment, he does not know how long my mom's life is. He says 'keep ur fingers crossed'. Of course, it triggers trauma for me and my siblings. I sincerly request you to guide me how to save my mother's life. Which one is the best clinic or best doctor to treat Anaplastic cancer ?If India has no option,in USA, where should I go ?

Answer: I sorry to hear about your mother. One of the biggest factors in how long a cancer patient will live is how soon it was discovered and what it's "stage" was. That means how much it has spread. Obviously, the more spread, the worse the prognosis. Your best bet may be to check with the oncology (cancer) department at a major teaching hospital in say Delhi or Kolkat (spelling?). They would need all your mom's records, just as any center in the US would. As for US centers, 3 of the best would be The Mayo Clinic, The Cleveland Clinic, and Sloan-Kettering in Ny. Best of luck to you & your family.

Question: SIDE EFFECTS of Radioactive Iodine Therapy? I'll be having it 2 weeks from now to treat thyroid papillary cancer. Would I lose my hair?? I would take about a 100ml of it.. Would I also be incapable of producing an offspring??

Answer: No to both of your questions. Pretty much the only side effect will be, stay away from pregnant women and babies for a few days and wash your clothes separately for a few days. The dr should have gone over everything with you already. Forgot about this till I read it: mild sore throat and dry mouth. Take tylenol and suck on hard candies.