In This Together ~ The Craigs

Dear friends and family, Marisa is continuing her solitude time away during her radioactive iodine treatment.  We are grateful for family and friends who have helped us throughout this last week to maintain consistency with our kids' schedules, meals, etc.  We are also thankful for our friends who have hosted Marisa in their additional "lodge" apartment on their property.   Marilyn (my mother in law) and the kids visiting Marisa as she snaps a picture from the upstairs window. Good news so far!  There were no surprises in Marisa's most recent scan.  The endocrinologist pointed out some remaining spots of cancer in her neck as expected, but he is confident that the radioactive iodine treatment will eradicate all of it.  At this point, the medical team is not seeing cancer in any other region of Marisa's body!  The doctor said that he "will feel even better" (more confident) after viewing the post-treatment scan results at the end of this wee...

Dear friends and family, Today is the day.  At about 1:00 p.m. we will receive the results of Marisa's body scan, which will be followed by a dose of radioactive iodine.  The scan will reveal any remaining cancer in her neck, if present, and show if cancer has spread to other areas of her body.  The level of the RAI dose will depend on the results of the scan.  After that, Marisa will drive separately from the hospital to our friends' lodge where she will be isolated for the next seven days to reduce radiation exposure to others.  (More details about the procedure are in the previous post.)  This week, Marisa has traveled to and from Johns Hopkins everyday for outpatient preparation for this RAI treatment.  She has received a couple of doses of a thyroid hormone that has caused her to be very fatigued and nauseous for most of each day.  She also received a low test dose of radioactive iodine before her scan.  At this point, the nausea has...