radioactive once again

Still waiting on the actual scan, but I thought I'd let everyone know how it was all going. So far everything is going really well! I've been on the iodine free diet which is luckily not too tough in Boulder with all the options for fresh organic produce. I've been extremely lucky to have my mom and sister and the rest of the family baking and cooking and over all spoiling me as well! Monday and Tuesday I got my injections of the thyroid hormone suppressors. Two very easy if not slightly uncomfortable shots in the bum. I've been pretty lucky and only had a few side effects of nausea and headaches. Over all nothing too terrible and much better than a month of being severally hypothyroid but still not particularly fun.

Today I went in for the small dose of radioactive iodine. It was a much smaller dose than my last one and is actually a different isotope so none of the radiation will actually stay in my body or kill any disease but it will get taken up by any if there's any left in there. This way in case I dont have any more cancer cells I dont get any unnecessary radiation. It also means I dont have to be isolated which is really nice! It was a very surreal experience getting the radioactive iodine. They took me back into a small room and a woman with big gloves came in with a big metal thermos with big "radioactive substances" and "nuclear medicine" stickers on it. Then she opened it up and poured 3 rather large pills into my bare hand, handed me a cup of water. I swallowed them and that was it. Very easy.

Tomorrow is the full body scan as well as several pictures and scans of my neck and chest. It will be boring more than anything. About 2 hours of laying as still as possible in one of those oh so fashionable hospital gowns, but it will be great to have it over and done with! I think the hardest part will be having to wait a few weeks before we get the results.

Other than that things are really great and I've been enjoying my extra week in America. We've been decorating the house and with all the snow on the ground it's really feeling like the holidays! It's been wonderful to get to spend so much time with my wonderful and amazingly supportive family! I am so so so lucky! It's hard to believe I've been back almost six weeks! Saturday I fly back to Australia and I am extremely excited to get back! It will be very nice to get back to my life and friends again and finally get some summer.

I'll keep this up to date with anything new that happens but chances are we wont know anything new for at least a week or two. I hope everyone has an absolutely wonderful holiday and a new year full of great joy and good health! I for one am hoping for an easy and quiet year to come.