Radioactive Iodine Treatment

[bmartin6]

Hello,

This question is concerning possible long term health effects of multiple radioactive iodine treatment. I was wondering what the professional guidelines are for how much RAI 131 can be used to treat thyroid cancer over time? I have had one treatment 6 years ago, one in November and another is due in April. The dosage so far has been ~5,600mbq per session. Is it a case of monitoring how one's immune system is holding up and making the decisions based on that?

Thank you for your time.

[Dr Petros Perros]

It is good practice whenever possible to keep exposure to radiation to the minimum possible. Up to 20,000MBq is reasonably safe, but the proper way of approaching this is to consider the balance between benefits and risks. If the thyroid cancer is presently a real threat to life, then clearly the balance is in favour of taking the small long term risks. It is standard practice to discuss these issues in detail and you should have had the opportunity to do this with the specialist who is supervising your treatment and who is in the best position to advise you. If you have not, all you need to do is ask.