[ RadSafe ] I-131 Pt and concerns

Fri Jan 6 19:57:31 CST 2012

Folks

To expand a little, on the estimable Dr. Marcus' reply, it's not just a question of protecting the baby from I-131 in his mother's milk.  Her breasts would also receive a dose of radiation that most docs would consider not "ALARA", if she were treated while she was lactating.

Cheers
cja

-----Original Message-----
From: Brennan, Mike (DOH) (DOH) <Mike.Brennan at DOH.WA.GOV>
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) MailingList <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
Sent: Wed, Jan 4, 2012 12:54 pm
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] I-131 Pt and concerns

I completely defer, especially as you are a doctor, and could no doubt
play one on TV.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Carol Marcus
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 2:50 PM
To: radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] I-131 Pt and concerns

Dear Mike et al.:

If she is breastfeeding she should NOT pump and store.  She should not 
be treated until she has stopped breastfeeding and dried up (2 or 3 
weeks).  No woman should ever get I-131 in any form or amount when she 
is actively breastfeeding.

Carol S. Marcus, Ph.D., M.D.

On 1/4/2012 10:53 AM, Brennan, Mike (DOH) wrote:
> I am not a doctor, and do not play a doctor on TV.  I am certainly not
> offering medical advice.  There are a couple of reasonable radiation
> protection driven actions that make sense.
>
> If she is breast feeding, she should pump and store, and not breast
feed
> her baby for some period of time after the procedure (her radiologist
> should be able to tell her how long).
>
> Shower frequently to remove iodine that expresses on her skin.
>
> Laundering clothing should be adequate to remove the iodine from the
> clothing, as iodine is highly soluble in water.
>
> For the first several days after the procedure, she should avoid
> skin-to-skin contact, not just with her baby, but with other members
of
> the family.  An impressive amount of iodine can cross over to other
> people.  When she holds her baby, a couple layers of blanketing should
> do, and as I recall the half-life of a baby blanket between coming in
> contact with the baby and needing to be changed because something got
on
> it is in the minutes, or hours at most.
>
> The best advice still comes from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
> Universe": "Don't panic!"
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Rees, Brian
G
> Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 10:32 AM
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing
List
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] I-131 Pt and concerns
>
> I have a friend, who has a friend that will soon be undergoing I-131
> therapy for a metastasized thyroid Ca.  The Pt is a new mother, and
went
> to the www to read about I-131, radiation, etc., and is now convinced
> she needs to throw away her used clothing, sleep in a different part
of
> the house (the basement), and not have any contact with her baby for a
> month (among other things)... hopefully she isn't buying over-priced
> vitamins... but anyway...
>
> I did go through the archives, but haven't found any what I would
> consider to be good, authoritative and informative sources of
> information regarding post-therapy care and precautions, but don't
have
> time to go through all the archives either (!).  Recommendations?
>
> I don't know how much activity they are planning to administer
(assuming
> 100-200 mCi or so), or other details (she's a friend of a friend...),
> but one thing she is particularly concerned about is holding her baby
at
> some point in an infant carrier (the kind that holds the baby against
> the chest).  Other than making all kinds of assumptions myself, is
there
> an accessible program that I could use to calculate exposures for
after
> a week, 2 weeks, etc., to help inform the mother of what doses would
be,
> rather than having her full of fear?
>
> Yes, I know it's to help the mother, and that an infant thyroid is
> vulnerable, and that her MD should be making recommendations, and that
> I'm not an MD, etc., but I sure hate to see a distorted view taken of
> the potential risks from this procedure.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Brian Rees, NRRPT, CHP
>
>
>
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