After a couple of weeks including the days after my operation, I was able to go back to work. My stitches were already removed and the only trouble that I was having was this very low tone or pitch with my voice. In my line of work, you do need to talk quite a lot so this new ‘frog-like croak’ that I had instead of my normal tone would take some getting used to. I was able to attend school activities even while I was recovering from the surgery.
After six weeks, the doctor required me to go through some laboratory tests again: TSH, Thyroglobulin, and anti-thyroglobulin. The results came back normal, and the histopath result indicated that there is still a remand of thyroid tissue which needs to be removed so that the cancer cells will not grow again and spread.
My endoctrinologist set up another hospital confinement schedule for me on July 20, 2015. It was for RAI or Radioactive Iodine Therapy. Prior to this, I had to be on a low Iodine diet. This means no salt, milk, or other dairy products, no seafood, bread made with iodate dough conditioners, food with red dye, chocolate, soy products, etc. I even had to avoid restaurant food because there was no way to determine which ones use iodized salt. As such, my breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals had to be closely monitored so I stuck to eating almost the same set of food items every day.
On July 20, I was taken to an isolated room where no visitors were allowed. The nurse had to wear a special suit before going anywhere near me. The nuclear medical tech used a radiation detector to give me a special capsule sealed in a heavy bottle. From the bottle, it has to be put directly on my mouth and swallowed. After the endocrinologist gave me 150 mCi of the I-131 capsule, everyone left me alone for four days in the small, isolated room.
They were giving me meals but someone just leaves it outside the door for me to pick up. From a no-iodine diet, I was upgraded to a low-iodine meal plan. All utensils were disposable. The isolation was difficult but I did have TV and Wi-Fi, I can use my mobile phone and laptop, read books, watch TV. The nurses always called me to check if there was anything that I need. When my doctor comes to visit, it was always from a distance.
I was advised to drink plenty of water and keep a slice of lemon inside my mouth so that my salivary glands would not get affected by the radiation. I had to bathe two or three times a day so that the radiation would drain faster. I also had to urinate at least once every two hours, and drink at least one glass of water every hour.
On my second day, the radiation level was 10 and the next day, it was 1.4. The only time that I can be discharged is if the level goes to less than 2.5. After the whole body scans, the results showed that there was an intense accumulation of radioiodine in my neck region, but no other abnormal accumulation of radioactivity in other parts of my body.
Until August 2, 2015, they were still removing traces of radiation from my body. This means that no person under 45 can stay within 2 meters of me, for more than eight hours per day. There was also a prescribed time limit for hugging, kissing, and touching immediate family. I also had to sleep alone in a room separate from my husband, I had to use separate utensils, and avoid crowded places.
Right now, I’m back at work. I promise to keep you posted on my progress towards my journey in treating this kind of illness. Just continue to pray and be a blessing to others. God bless!
My Fight Against Thyroid Cancer 