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1481649 tn?1287684562

Anyone with thyroid cancer & TT choose not to do RAI?

Hello,
I was diagnosed with papillary carcinoma and had a TT two weeks ago.  The pathology results showed that I had one cancerous node (several non cancerous) and that the tumor was completely encapsulated.  I meet with the oncologist tomorrow, but I'm wondering why it would be necessary to go through the radiation if the carcinoma was contained.  I have an 18 month old and a 3 year old and I don't know how I would limit contact with them after RAI (I just read that you need to stay away from young children for 2 weeks after - is that correct?), plus the process sounds rather miserable.  Would love to hear how others chose their course of treatment.  Thanks in advance.  I'm not nearly as well educated on this condition as I should be.  
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219241 tn?1413537765
Sounds like a good plan. Glad your doc is aware and keeping an eye on you.

After having a TT you might find it takes a while to get your levels right. Get tested every 6 weeks, keep a copy of your pathology results and hopefully you will see improvement quickly!
Helpful - 0
1481649 tn?1287684562
Thank you for the comments - I really appreciate you both taking the time to respond :)

To update, I met with the oncologist yesterday and he was wonderful.  He agreed and actually suggested that RAI wasn't absolutely necessary in my case, given that the tumor was 1.4 mm, was a papillary carcinoma, completely encapsulated, and located in the middle of the thyroid gland.  Had the tumor been larger than 1.5 mm or spread out towards the edges he would have wanted to go ahead with RAI.  I'll have an ultrasound in 6 months to check up on it and yearly thereafter as well labs to check thyroglobulin levels.  The Dr. said that he had never had anyone with my set of conditions come back with "a mess on their hands" after choosing TT only.  If I start to feel nervous about my decision I can always go ahead with RAI.

So that's good news for me!  If the Dr. had even been slightly pressing me to go ahead with treatment I would have, but for now I'm comfortable with this decision.  Now I just have to work on getting my TSH levels
Helpful - 0
219241 tn?1413537765
The reason they do RAI after the cancer is taken out is that there can often be microscopic cancer cells remaining in the thyroid bed after a total thyroidectomy.
Of course, you have the right to refuse treatment, and that is your choice.

The radioactive iodine is a specific type which will only bind to thyroid cells and destroy them, it is not (as far as literature today) likely you will have any other radiation illnesses in the future.

  I urge you to study up as much as you can about RAI so you can make an informed decision.

Generally speaking it is aound 3 days you will not be allowed any contact with anyone. Read up on the net, you will learn lots!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi, go to google and type in , "Health Ranger Thyroid Cancer treatment." He claims you are not even supposed to take public transportation after drinking liquid radiation! This sounds more dangerous than a mammogram. THEY ARE TELLING YOU THAT YOU WILL BE RADIOACTIVE. IT'S BARBARIC. I think you should load up on vitamin D3
and cordyceps mushroom capsules. Why have radiation circulating throughout your body?
Gee; even a dental xray makes me nervous. At least consider putting this off. Spend time reading up on it. Aster44
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