How does my neck look? 5/31/11

A year ago today, I joined the blogosphere and posted my first blog entry! As can be expected in the first year of one's cancer journey, I have gone through a lot in the past 365 days, so I am glad I was able to document what I was going through - my blog has been a good outlet for me.

I am currently preparing for my one-year whole body scan (WBS), just started the LID yesterday. Instead of going off my meds, I will be getting Thyrogen shots this year, followed by the RAI dose, then WBS and unsurpressed Tg/TgAB blood draw. The whole thing will take five days. But I'm not sure about the timing of all of this. I had a CT scan with contrast last August, to check for some areas of concern in my chest area that was found after my RAI ablation treatment last July. The result was clear, but the contrast that was given to me can stay in my body for up to a year, and could interfere with any RAI given for treatment, whether it is an ablation dose or a scan dose. It will be just 10 months post CT scan with contrast when I get my one-year dose/scan in two weeks. I think I need to call my NucMed doc to see if this will be Ok, or if we should wait a few more months.

Not sure if I really want to put it off for two more months because I am anxious to see if there is still any thyroid cancer, well, either of the two flavors I have, left in my body. I guess it does not really matter since I will need yearly follow up anyway - blood work and ultrasounds to make sure my TSH is at the right level and that my Tg (Thyroglobulin, the ThyCa tumor marker) is still undetectable. I almost want something to show up so I can be monitored more closely than once a year - I just don't want to be walking around for 12 months thinking things are fine only to find out at my annual check that things have gone horribly wrong, and the worry starts all over again because I have to go through more surgery or another round of RAI, not a scan dose, but another ablation dose. No, I definitely want to be spared from that. Then again, I guess the best thing is to be surprised. I don't think God would send me down a path that I could not handle, so bring it on.

Anyway, how does my neck look, 365 days later?

LID is....expensive

I went LID shopping after yoga earlier today. I stopped by Trader Joe's, Henry's, and Whole Foods. For approximately $74, I picked up the following:

Trader Joe's:
Zico coconut water
Vanilla meringue cookies
Brown rice fusilli
Organic Green Tea
Organic Polenta
Fruit applesauce 4pk
Green and yellow beans
Broccoli, carrots, cauliflower medley
Bananas

Henry's:
Cilantro
Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Avocados
Blanched almonds
Sweet potato
Yam

Whole Foods:
Bissinger's Natural Apricot Green Tea gummy pandas
Luna & Larry's Organic Coconut Bliss Naked Coconut
Fresh chicken breast (no skin/bone)
MimicCreme Almond & Cashew cream for coffee french vanilla
Scharffen Berger Mocha Dark Chocolate with freshly roasted coffee

Hopefully all of this stuff will last me until the end of the week. The Luna & Larry's naked coconut 'ice cream' tastes really good! There were a few flavors, and I believe just about all of the flavors are LID safe. I'm not planning on eating the chicken every day, so it should last me for the whole two weeks of LID. I need to get some instant coffee for the MimicCream, or I could put that in my oatmeal. I already mixed half of the berries and bananas for a fruit salad that I can eat any time. I'll probably bring the applesauce to work, for a quick and easy snack. I'm looking forward making guacamole, but not sure what to eat it with.

For lunch, I stir-fried chicken, garlic, and blanched almonds with some olive oil and sesame seed oil, then threw in the TJ's green and yellow beans, topped with some TJ's pink himilayan salt. I threw that on top of some jasmine/brown rice. It was very tasty.

Despite the restrictions of the LID diet, all LID food is good and tasty. But, depending on what it is I am eating, sometimes LID foods don't go too well with my WeightWatchers program. For example, nuts. I love nuts, but they can carry a lot of points plus. Dark chocolate, but chocolate is always high in points plus. Rice, pasta, quinoa - I love it all, but they are all high in points plus. My new discovery (thanks to Suzanna from my ThyCa group), the Luna & Larry 'ice cream' is also high in points plus, but oh so good! I am trying watch my portions this time because I think that is where I went overboard last year. I put in my points plus for what I've eaten so far today, and I almost used up all of my points plus for the day! .

Low Iodine Diet (LID), round 2

In preparation for my one-year body scan on June 15 (followed by 5 mCi RAI dose on June 13), I have to start the LID today, two weeks before hand. Hopefully this round of LID will be much better than the first round, last year. I even bought the LID cookbook earlier this year, but didn't crack it open until earlier this month. I was able to read more on the flight legs between LAX and Austin this past weekend. Now if I only had time to do some LID shopping before I left for Austin last week....the only thing I knew for sure that I had on hand for LID is Diet Coke.

So what was for breakfast today? I made myself a bowl of oat meal with (I think all of this stuff is LID-safe):
3/4 cups Quaker Oats (Quick - 1 minute) [100% natural, 100% whole grain, sodium free], mixed with 
A dash of Trader Joe's Himalayan Pink Salt Crystals [made on equipment shared with wheat and soy]
1 TSP of Organic Light Brown Sugar [Organic & Fair Trade Certified]
1 TSP of Trader Joe's Cocoa Powder Unsweetened [Tumaco Cocoa Powder]

I washed that down with 8 oz of Diet Coke. I know, I should have just had water, but the oats were a bit stale, and the only thing I had on hand that is LID compatible to take the stale taste out of my mouth was the diet coke.

Thank goodness today is a holiday so I'm not at work worrying about eating LID approved food. I'm pretty sure Trader Joe's, Henry's, and WholeFoods will be open today. So that is the plan, after I pick up the pests, I mean pets, from the vet/kennel, and possibly after yoga, I'll go LID shopping.

Here we go...boarding for flight to go back home. Sigh. I need to spend more time with my sister Caroline in Austin. Once I get home, I'm pretty much on the LID.

Seems like we just go here, and now it is almost time to go home! Too short, but nice we all made it for the graduation, even Viv - a very nice surprise!

Our flight was cancelled! I got myself & mom on an earlier flight, dad on a much later flight, different airline. Should be interesting.

Thyrogen shots: Don't get to go to my local UrgentCare, have to go to the one at my ENDOs office for my shots. The good news is they have Thyrogen, on hand.