Radioactive iodine usage after thyroid surgery for different stages of thyroid cancer is up, but there are few guidelines outlining proper dosages and usage. So what is it and what do patients and health providers need to know?
First, your thyroid gland absorbs nearly all of the iodine in your blood. When a large enough dose of radioactive iodine (RAI), also known as I-131, is taken into the body, it can destroy the thyroid gland and any other thyroid cells (including cancer cells) that take up iodine, with little effect on the rest of your body.
Between 1990 and 2008 its use has increased among patients with all tumor sizes, and there was wide variation in use of this treatment among hospitals according to a new study released this week which states:
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