Upcoming treatment
I'm trying to post frequently on my thoughts and such about what's going on and what it's like right now as a cancer patient, both to help myself, to keep my friends updated, but also just to support others in the future if needed....so I'm keeping all these posts public. I don't know if they'll ever help anyone other than me, but you never know.
Yesterday I got the detailed info from my doctor about the low-iodine diet I need to go on before my radioactive iodine treatment. Apparently, this is meant to remove as much iodine from my body as possible, so any thyroid (and possible remaining cancer) cells will be more receptive to the treatment and suck up the radioactive iodine better. Ok, totally makes sense.
So I start this diet the end of next week until I get treated, and then for a bit afterward (that's still up in the air). Basically, the diet sucks.
No iodized salt or sea salt. Well, yes, that's obvious. But the rest of the list? It just gets worse from there.
No milk or any dairy products.
No soy products.
No fish or seafood.
No canned foods.
No chocolate.
No eggs.
No molasses.
No store-made bread (I can make home-made bread because I know what's in it).
No cured meats.
Nothing with red dye #3.
No restaurant food. (no guarantee of non-iodized salt)
So. Yeah. But being the optimist, there is some good news: at least it's summer, and I can hit the farmer's markets and go nuts on salad. And fruits are still ok. I also found some great tips and even some recipes on the thyroid cancer survivors org web site. But still, no milk or cheese? Or chocolate? Ugg. At least it's only 3-4 weeks max.
Side note to self: I should make a new icon for this stuff....
Yesterday I got the detailed info from my doctor about the low-iodine diet I need to go on before my radioactive iodine treatment. Apparently, this is meant to remove as much iodine from my body as possible, so any thyroid (and possible remaining cancer) cells will be more receptive to the treatment and suck up the radioactive iodine better. Ok, totally makes sense.
So I start this diet the end of next week until I get treated, and then for a bit afterward (that's still up in the air). Basically, the diet sucks.
No iodized salt or sea salt. Well, yes, that's obvious. But the rest of the list? It just gets worse from there.
No milk or any dairy products.
No soy products.
No fish or seafood.
No canned foods.
No chocolate.
No eggs.
No molasses.
No store-made bread (I can make home-made bread because I know what's in it).
No cured meats.
Nothing with red dye #3.
No restaurant food. (no guarantee of non-iodized salt)
So. Yeah. But being the optimist, there is some good news: at least it's summer, and I can hit the farmer's markets and go nuts on salad. And fruits are still ok. I also found some great tips and even some recipes on the thyroid cancer survivors org web site. But still, no milk or cheese? Or chocolate? Ugg. At least it's only 3-4 weeks max.
Side note to self: I should make a new icon for this stuff....