GARYLILIA Re: endocrinologist

[Guest guest]

I've read your message of February 07.....

You said you were: (The post-op biopsy reported: // - papillary cancer, 2.8

cm in size in the left lobe, and .5 cm in // size in the right node // -

metastatic to 1 regional (pericapsular) lymph node in the left lobe //

only - parathyroid tissue in both lobes were free of metatstatic carcinoma

// My endocrinologist recommends a 150 dosage of RAI, and does not want //

to do a preliminary scan.)

I THINK this:

1) pap cancer....... do you understand how RAI works? (i'll try to explain a

bit)

2) no preliminar scan? i disagree

3) RAI I agree

i don't wanna bother you but i don't know how much you really know about

this stuff so here i go.

Thyroid tissue is the only tissue in the body that absorbs iodine. When ypu

get a total thyroidectomy the goal to achieve is to eliminate from the body

any rest of thyroid tissue to avoid a possible metastasis into any thyroid

cell that may be around the body. The thing is that when you get TT your

blood doesn't stop circulating on your body so DURING the surgery thyroid

cells 'travel' through the blood stream to your whole body.

So nuclear doctors (ha ha, they glow!) made radioactive iodine. The point

is, you drink radioactive iodine. It circulates around your body. It gets

excreted out of your body BUT thyroid cells absorb the radioactive iodine

(good cells and cancer cells). The whole radiation is eliminated from your

body via urine but you still have radioactive iodine glowing in your thyoid

cells, it keeps working almost 6 months and in that time, those remaining

thyroid cells pop. (so that's why you will be more hypo until your dose get

adjusted). That's the only way to ablate remaining thyroid tissue from your

body to avoid future metastasis. You can say that after iodine and a CLEAN

scan you are almost healed. (you never know, but...... with no thyroid

tissue in your body you may say you don't have ANY kind of thyroid

tissue...... that means good or cancerous)

The idea of a previous scan is to know WHAT are you fighting to. Just to see

how much thyroid tissue is spread through your body. That scan will be used

to compare with a second scan 6 months later (usually) and see if the iodine

worked (it's supposed to work).

The only way to get rid of thyroid cells (tmoral or not) is RAI. It's not

like chemotherapy or radioterapy...... you won't have hairloss or other

complications. Only a few precautions..... being away the first days from

childs, pregnant women, people in general....... you shouldn't get pregnant

during 6 months or a year (some people say) from the iodine because you may

give birth to a critter or an alien :-)

That's the big picture of it. Remember I AIN'T NO DOCTOR..... i'm just a

patient. I had a scan with low dose on Nov 26th and a few days later (i

think nov 30th) my ablative dose of rai (200 mCi)....... i'm still alive :-)

and i felt iodine worked very good cuz i kept getting hypo and hypo so i

needed to raise my T4 dose (levoxyl in your country.... here it's called

Levotiroxina) to .175.... the more you need T4 means the less you have

thyroid tissue....... the goal is NOT having thyroid tissue....... the

weapon: RAI......

My guessing..... DO the RAI.

The best way to know what makes the best for you is BEING INFORMED.... try

to learn the more you can about this shit we have to live........ BUT it's

not that shitty cuz it's healable so..... we should do the best to get

HEALED...... the weapon...... TT and RAI.

I don't know what else to say.

I hope this helps and i'd love to hear from you and to listen to your

comments, doubts, etc.

Rodrigo Hernan Marras

almost 23 y/o

Buenos Aires, Argentina.

bye! take care.

endocrinologist

Hi

I wanted to get another opinion on whether I need RAI or not. Does

anyone have an endocrinologist they like in Los Angeles, westside?

(preferably associated with Cedars-Sinai)

Thank you in advance.

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