Just had radioactive iodine treatment for thyroid cancer

Just had radioactive iodine treatment thyroid cancer it’s the unknown I find hard to handle 

  • Hello John, 

    I hope the radioactive iodine treatment went well and that you are feeling ok - there is information on our website on what to expect after radioactive iodine treatment for thyroid cancer which I hope you will find useful.

    This is bound to be a time of uncertainty for you with a lot of unknowns and it's totally normal to find this hard to handle at times. It can all seem a bit too much but things should get a little bit better as treatment progresses and you know exactly what lies ahead for each step of the treatment process. If you have any questions about anything, our nurse helpline is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm on this free number 0808 800 4040 and they will be happy to answer any questions you might have. 

    Other members of our community have dealt with a thyroid cancer diagnosis and I hope that they will be along shortly to share their experience with you. I have had a little look on the forum for you and there are countless past thyroid cancer threads (simply enter the keywords thyroid cancer in our search forum function located at the top of the age to see relevant content). For example,  's thyroid cancer thread might be of interest to you along with  and  's replies to this thread so don't hesitate to respond if you wish - it does help to talk to others who have been through this before too and who will be able to relate to this fear of the unknown you describe. 

    Best of luck for your treatment - I hope everything goes well! 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Five years since my thyroid was removed.  Alls well.  
    had a few malignant melanomas since but unrelated.  Can’t praise the hospital enough for all my treatment 

  • What do you want to know? I had thyroid cancer and radio-iodine treatment and while your experience might be different from mine, I can give you my experience.

    I'm guessing you are out of hospital now as you posted this three days ago? Once I had my radio iodine treatment, I then just had to wait for the result of the full body scan.

    A year later, I had another full body scan, thankfully with only a very low dose of tablet so no stay in hospital or anything which confirmed the all-clear.

    Since then, I've had blood tests twice a year and an ultrasound once a year to ensure I've remained cancer free. 

    But the radioactive iodine was the last actual treatment and I'm just hoping it will remain that way. Had that four years ago next May. And I was at higher than average risk for recurrence due to a large malignancy on the thyroid (6.7cm) and eight positive lymph nods.

  • Oh one thing, I had a pretty dramatic nosebleed about 10 or 11 days after treatment and googling says it is probably related as a significant minority of people have reported that. That was the only effect it had though.

  • Hiya thanks for sharing you thyroid cancer journey  My cancer journey started 2016 with Nasopharyngeal cancer Having external Beam Radiotherapy 5dsys over 7 weeks it was hell got the all clear Unfortunately 7 years on cancer has returned Diagnosis Poorly Differeniated Thyroid Cancer Had complete Thyroidectomy surgery followed by radioactive iodine treatment Now awaiting full body scan results Which I am finding hard to deal with at the moment I have come to terms with it all it’s nice to share with someone who has had the experience once again thank you so much 

    kind regards 

    JOHN