hello we are new to this and i just wanted to ask a few questions in regards to radio-iodine therapy.. my daughter is 17 and is getting ready to have her second round of it. she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer that has metasticized into her lymphnodes and left lung.. she has a total thyroidectomy march the 29th of this year.. my question is.. what are the chances of her developing oral cancer .. its a great concern as she is "swallowing" the radiation. How much does it take to get worried. they talk about her having a chance of it but as i've said.. just how much radiation can cause it. she has to use a special mouth wash and toothpaste after every round so that he mouth doesn't dry out. they've even given her prescription suckers. does that help??.. thank you for any response..

melissa and amber

hi melissa and amber,

i can't answer any of your questions.

however my wife and i have a very good friend from our high school days. she had thyroid cancer and did radiation treatment for it some 40 yrs ago. we saw her again a few months ago. she's had a full life with kids and grand-kids. no oral cancer developed.

hopefully treatments have progressed enough that all will be fine for you.
best wishes.

cu,
larryb

Hi Melissa and Amber --

My husband's ENT surgeon herself had a head/neck cancer when she was 19, not much older than your daughter (this was about 18 years ago). She was treated with the old-fashioned cobalt radiation at Hopkins. It was very hard, in those days there were no PEG tubes, it was "swallow or starve" so she swallowed, had to gargle with lidocaine beforehand. None of the pain treatments of the time worked very well, she even tried marijuana. She came out free of cancer, but with dry mouth and some trismus but this has improved a lot over the years.

However -- the cancer was gone. Because of her experience, she went on to medical school at Hopkins and entered the field of otolaryngology. She treats a lot of head/neck cancer patients, and diagnosed my husband's tonsillar cancer, and also, did his surgery. We always take her advice very seriously as she has been through the war herself! She beat the disease and has gone on to a normal life -- and so can your daughter.

Be strong,
Gail

Hello Melissa and Amber, Most of the patients here are familiar with Squamous Cell Carcinoma which has a little different treatment protocol than thyroid papillary carcinoma. Because of this you might not get an answer to your question right away. You will find that people here are willing to support you emotionally even though the cancer may be a little unfamiliar.

I wish you both well.

As a side note those of us that recieved external beam radiation are at elevated risk for this kind of cancer (thyroid papillary) long-term.