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Emma Day fights thyroid cancer. Unfortunately, this is not her only drama. In difficult times, when she needs the support of her relatives the most, she cannot hug her children. The therapy that saves her life has caused the woman to be temporarily irradiated.
A 27-year-old British woman noticed a swelling in her throat in January. She immediately went to the doctor who referred her for thyroid tests. The diagnosis was immediate: thyroid cancer.
The doctor treating Emma decided that it was necessary to surgically remove the tumor. The procedure was successful, but it did not guarantee a XNUMX% cure. Radiotherapy was necessary. Due to the fact that the thyroid glands take up iodine from the body, the radioactive isotope of this element is used in the treatment of neoplasms of this organ. So Emma took the iodine supplement.
Iodine therapy is a targeted therapy. This means that it only damages the cells of the thyroid gland. Unfortunately, some of the radioactive iodine is not taken up by the thyroid gland and circulates freely throughout the body. For this reason, it is recommended that people undergoing this treatment avoid contact with other people, especially children, for several days. Patients’ sweat and urine are also radioactive, so they should change bed linen every day and flush the toilet several times. Therapy is absolutely forbidden in pregnant and lactating women.
It just so happens that Emma was just nursing her one-year-old twins, so it was obvious that she wouldn’t be able to do this after therapy. However, the side effects of treatment turned out to be much more severe in women than usual in this type of case. Emma was so irradiated that the medical staff decided to throw away all the equipment she came into contact with in the hospital, where she was held for several days longer.
Upon returning home, my mother was devastated. Doctors advised her to avoid contact with the children for another three weeks. Considering that she had just weaned the children from her breasts, it was cruel for her not to cuddle them.
It is very difficult because the twins are too small to understand it. My six-year-old daughter had an interview with a psychologist who explained to her that treatment was essential and would make me recover, says Emma.
As it turns out, the British case is not an isolated one. In Poland, many patients struggle with difficulties after treatment with radioactive iodine.
– I have an overactive thyroid gland. I received radioactive iodine in a nuclear medicine clinic, says 57-year-old Jolanta from Gorzów Wielkopolski. – Right after the administration, the doctor ordered me to leave the building immediately! I was irradiated. I am forbidden from contacting children and pregnant women for two weeks.
– There is a mother and child ward on the first floor of the clinic where I go. Pregnant women, parents with small children and newborns come there. On the second floor there is a radiotherapy ward from which radiating patients emerge.
– As I was descending the stairs, I looked to see if there was anyone from the clinic on the floor below. I started running down the stairs. In the last meters, I caught up with my parents with their newborn baby in a carrier, and the woman was heavily pregnant. I wanted to turn back upstairs, but when I turned around I saw another pregnant woman coming out of the clinic. Isn’t that some total paradox? Was it not possible to place a children’s clinic in a separate building, or to build a separate entrance, where we, the radiating ones, would have no contact with babies and pregnant women?
– And what should a sick person who lives in a house with a little child, where he is also pregnant, do? There are many families that struggle with the housing problem and the young live with their parents. Should a sick pensioner move out to a hotel? Only the rich can afford it. Meanwhile, in the hotel, it will also radiate and the circle is closed. Are the doctors 100% sure that the patient will actually avoid contact with the environment?
We asked Dr. Janusz Meder, MD, President of the Polish Oncology Union, for his opinion.
– Indeed, patients do emit radiation after administration of radioactive iodine. It is especially dangerous for children, so it is so important that people undergoing treatment take special precautions – explains the doctor. – The intensity of the radiation depends primarily on the dose that the patient received. However, it should be remembered that this radiation disappears very quickly, and the attending physician will not discharge the patient from the hospital if he deems it dangerous for the environment. Passing someone in the corridor, standing next to you on the bus or even shaking hands is not a threat. To be able to talk about the risk, we would have to stand very close to the person after radiotherapy for more than a day. You really have to be careful about long-term contact. This is probably why Emma Day’s doctors advised her not to hug children. In a situation where a person undergoing radioactive iodine therapy is with other people under the same roof for several weeks, contact should be kept to a minimum.