ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization (tax ID #52-2169434) of thyroid cancer survivors, family members, and health care professionals. We are dedicat...

YouTube video by David Bazan - Topic

sztupy: > kirtlandswarbler: > >> yet another unironically great video recommendation from youtube dot com Related not great, not terrible story > The RAI is a scary, but a fascinating and effective treatment for thyca. I had two thyrogen shots (no big deal) then the tracer dose of I-123 (5 millicuries). Prior to taking this pill (several pills, actually) my “baseline” was about 200 counts/minute. this is just natural background radiation, no matter where I pointed my Geiger counter (granite countertop, floor, walls, my stomach) the counts were about the same. After the tracer, the Geiger counter went screaming up to ~50,000 counts per minute! However, this is gamma radiation and not as harmful. After the ablation dose of 1-131 (I had 100 millicurie dose) the Geiger Counter went into overload. The sirens went off, and it maxed out the detector. It couldn’t even produce numbers because my beta radiation was beyond the limits of the detector. This was very scary for me, but the Geiger counter I used is only meant to measure radiation in rocks which is typically at very low levels. It stayed high at this maxed out level for 4 days straight. I could turn the counter on, and then set it on a table and walk away from it in order for it to actually read some numbers. I would have to step into the next room and be at least 6 feet away in order for it to stop freaking out. Finally on day 5 my levels were finally getting lower so the detector could actually measure my counts per minute. They were about 60,000 cpm, then the next day they dropped to 50,000 cpm, then the next day to 40,000 cpm. I left my isolation after day 7 and my counts were under 30,000 cpm. If i crammed the detector against my neck, the counts shot up, but at least the rest of my body was declining. Now, after two weeks my counts are under 5,000 cpm. I post this for your reference because you can’t see or feel radiation. But it is there, all around you like a big cloud. I really think any isolation less than 7 days is very very risky. Even the minimum guidelines are just that- minimum! Since I took the time to make these measurements, I can tell you that if you have my dosage of ~100 mci, I would not go near anybody for a minimum of 7 days, and be very cautious with saliva and other fluids for at least two weeks.

Since its founding in October 1995, the Olney-based Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association (ThyCa) has been dedicated to creating a robust network of services connecting thyroid cancer survivors and he...