Injections at Accent's Thyroid Center in Gainesville, FL
The good news for patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer is that the disease is treatable and often curable with just surgery with an excellent prognosis. Even when thyroid cancer is more advanced, effective treatment is available for the most common forms of thyroid cancer.
Radioactive Iodine therapy and diagnostic testing is often used in the management of thyroid cancer. In preparation patients must have elevation in their TSH level. This can be accomplished by either going off of their thyroid hormone replacement which causes hypothyroidism or with the use of Thyrogen injections. For some, hypothyroidism has little effect on their health and well-being, but for others, the hormonal imbalance can cause more significant symptoms. Patient’s who fall in the latter group should consider Thyrogen.
How Can Thyrogen Injections at Accent Endocrinology Help You?
Thyrogen is a treatment option for patients who have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had their entire thyroid gland removed. It is used in addition to a low iodine diet for preparation for radioactive iodine (RAI) remnant ablation, radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment and for radioactive iodine (RAI) diagnostic scanning.
• Even after thyroid surgery, small fragments of the gland will remain in the body. These fragments could hold cancerous tissues which may trigger a relapse. In patients at high risk for recurrence or persistence, RAI remnant ablation is ordered to ensure that all of the thyroid tissue has been removed.
• In patients with persistent thyroid cancer, RAI can be used in high doses to treat and destroy any remaining thyroid cancer tissue.
• In patients at higher risk for recurrence, but who are thought to be cancer-free, follow-up evaluation can include a diagnostic RAI whole body scan at 12 to 18 months after the remnant ablation.
All of these procedures requiring the body to have some stimulation in order to activate any remaining thyroid tissues. Endocrinologists can employ one of two methods to stimulate the remaining tissue: withholding hormone replacement therapy or Thyrogen injections.
The first method, withholding thyroid hormone replacement, causes thyroid hormone levels to drop, temporarily disrupting the hormone balance in your body and causing low thyroid symptoms.
The second method, Thyrogen injections, allows you to remain on your thyroid hormone replacement while preparing for your test. This helps avoid the side effects of hypothyroidism.
The Injection Procedure
Each patient’s Thyrogen injection procedure will be customized by
their doctor for their specific management. Most injections are done in two
sessions 24 hours apart. The first injection is typically given 2 days before
the RAI administration; the second injection is typically the day before the
RAI administration.