Radioactive Allison

Had a fairly uneventful appointment with the endo yesterday.  Uncharacteristically, my ENT had not faxed over the pathology reports, so she had no idea that the nodule was malignant, that I had had two surgeries...  Slightly frustrating, but I was able to tell her all the pertinent facts and we talked about the radioactive iodine treatment.
I will receive the treatment at Northside Forsyth, which is close to the house and where I had my biopsies.  I am waiting on Radiology to call me (expect to hear from them early next week) and give me a couple dates to choose from.  I got the feeling from the doctor that it would be sooner than I had anticipated, but she did say they would give me several dates to choose from and I could pick what was convenient.  But basically, what will happen is that I will go to the hospital on a Monday and Tuesday and receive a shot (of something unpronouncable) each day.  I will be able to carry on as normal on both those days.  Wednesday I will again go to the hospital and receive the radioactive iodine (either in pill or liquid form).  Jason is allowed to drive me home from the hospital, but that's as close as he can be to me that day.  I will need to be isolated Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  She recommended that I send the kids away, if that was a possibility.  I have to flush the toilet twice every time I use the bathroom and I have to use disposable cups, plates, and cutlery.  I will then have a scan early the following week to see where the iodine shows up. I will then have another appointment with the endo a couple days after the scan.
Some interesting facts I have learned:
1.  The reason I had to have the left side removed was partly because of the type of cancer I had, but it was mostly because if it was still in there, when given the iodine, that left side would have absorbed all the iodine.  They really want the iodine to go into the cells that have left the thyroid (which is common, apparently) and if that half was still in there all the iodine would have gone there.
2.  Your thyroid cells release a protein called thyroidoglobulin (or thereabouts).  Cancerous thyroid cells also release this protein.  By killing all the healthy and cancerous cells with the radioactive iodine and then testing my blood for this protein, they can tell if the cancer is back.  Apparently, after the radioactive iodine I will no longer have any healthy cells, so if they detect this protein at any time down the road, they know the cancer cells remain or have come back.
3.  Thyroid cancer diagnosed under the age of 45 has a 99.9% survival rate.  According to the doctor, the bad part of the disease is all the scans and bloodwork that come in the years following the surgery and iodine treatment.  Both to test for this protein and to maintain my hormone levels. 

So now that you know more than you ever dreamed about thyroid stuff, I'll leave you with a couple prayer requests.

1. Wisdom.  Jason and I have not decided if I'm going to go to a hotel for my isolation or just stay at home.  I plan on talking to the radiology people when they call to schedule this deal and finding out what others usually do. 
2. Peace. Even though logically I know that everything is ok and that this treatment is going to be totally manageable and fodder for many jokes, I still feel a little freak out lurking in there. 
3. Patience.  I'm hardly in the minority here, but I don't like going to the doctor.  Funnily enough, I don't mind actually seeing the doctor, but the whole process-getting the appointment, getting to the office, paperwork, co-pays, waiting in the outer room, waiting in the inner room, lab work, waiting, waiting, waiting. The hassle of all that is what I HATE.  And it looks like I have a lot of this in my future.  BIG bummer.
4. Protection.  I am feeling Satan creep in to my thoughts more and more these days.  I had a pain in my left arm this afternoon and pretty soon, I was convinced I was going to have a heart attack and die in my living room watching football.  I'll be laughing over something the kids have done and all of a sudden I'm thinking about not being there for their high school graduations or weddings.  I'm thinking about life insurance and what my funeral should be like more than is normal.  I guess this experience has reminded me how mortal I am.  Not fun.  I don't want to be a hypochondriac, but I have lost faith in my body and now every little thing is some nasty little cancer lurking in there.  That's hard.

I promise my next entry will not be this depressing.  I have been taking my pictures each day, but haven't updated my Flickr site in ages.  I will do that tomorrow.  Also, I will post some pictures of my soccer star.  Oh my goodness, being a soccer mom is so entertaining!