Ken, My friend's daughter, then a young woman, had the same thing and the radioactive iodine was part of her treatment, too. She did very well. This was more than 25 years ago and she's still fine.
Ken...I'm sure even with your medical background or perhaps because of it you're probably feeling quite apprehensive now that you've been given the diagnosis you weren't really expecting ,. I wish you everything you wish for yourself, may your Lord watch over you..
Even regular Lugol's iodine is supposed to be beneficial for killing cancer cells and abnormalities that can lead to cancer. I get the Lugol's from Amazon and take it every day for my thyroid; but even if they remove the thyroid, every other hormone-producung gland in the body needs iodine to work right, and for men, the second place it is needed , is the prostate gland. http://healyourselfathome.com/HEALT...ENTS/1_NOT_ALLOWED/iodine_against_cancer.aspx I also take the natural form of thyroid, which is called Armour Thyroid, and it works great for me. My thyroid is now working right, and showing the correct levels again. Here is an interesting article that explains the difference between natural and synthetic thyroid, and also what the FDA has said about the quality of both. They have had to pull the synthetic several times for not being consistant in the amount in each dose, and have never had an issue with this in the natural, even though it has been in use for many years. The doctors apparently get a better commision from prescribing the synthetic, and unless you tell your doctor that you want the real one, they will give you the fake one. http://jeffreydachmd.com/why-natural-thyroid-is-better-than-synthetic/
My dr doesn't get a commission for prescribing Synthroid, Yvonne. The inconsistency is in the generic form of it, that's why I told Ken to get the Brand name. This is the only drug that I know that the Brand name is better. I started out on the Armour Thyroid, later switched to Synthroid and see no difference.
I'm very sorry that you did not receive the news you were hoping for Ken and also that you will have to have a second surgery too.
It's been 25 years that I had a Radical Nerve Sparing Prostatectomy at Stanford U. after being diagnosed with a highly aggressive cancer that was fortunately contained within the gland and had not spread. I well remember agonizing over the different options. But that's history. The outcome was good and so is life.
Yes, he's already mentioned synthetic but I don't believe that the surgeon gets a cut from the pharmaceutical companies. That would be pretty difficult to arrange, I think. My doctor did tell me that the type of cancer that I have is restricted to the thyroid and that even if bits of it were to find its way elsewhere in my body, they would be identified as thyroid tissue and killed by the radioactive iodine. That wouldn't have been the case with the other cancer, both of which he named, but which was referred to as the horrible kind of cancer.
Well there is some good news in there after all Ken. I'm really glad to hear you did not get the worst news.
So the results are in and yours is still the lessor of the two.. right? What can you expect from the next surgery?
Hopefully, it will go pretty much like the last one. They'll put me to sleep and when I wake up, it will be over. Then there is the radioactive iodine. While I am in the hospital, they will run tests to determine which medications I will have to take in order to make up for no longer having a thyroid gland. I may be in the hospital longer than last time, which was just overnight, as he said he'd be keeping me a day or two. If it were the more horrible cancer, they would be going back in for the left side soon but since it's not, they will be waiting until my surgical wounds heal, probably about a month.
Have just caught up with your latest news @Ken Anderson sorry it's wasn't an all clear, but from what you say, at least it's treatable and apart from having to take medication for the lack of a thyroid, all should be ok for the future. I hope the next op goes smoothly and that is the end of this worrying episode in your life. Take care