 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,552 | Daisy,
the NCCN Oncology Practice Guidelines recommend a TSH test every 6 months for life for persons having radiation in the head & neck area. My TSH levels almost went to abnormal and I was freezing cold a lot. It took a couple of years for them to return to the lower end of the acceptable margins. I had IMRT only and they spared the thyroid as much as possible. XRT is much harder on the thyroid. Oftentimes the thyroid never recovers and one must take synthetic thyroid hormones for life.
I also lost a lot of weight (and insulation) and that played a role as well. My wife gets cold very easy and she weighs 98 lbs. Body fat really does insulate very well.
Gary Allsebrook
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Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2
Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy)
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"You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)
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