Treating Disease

Abstract

Radionuclide therapy is one of the pillars of Nuclear Medicine. The radionuclide therapy programme at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine started with the use of radioiodine (I-131) for treatment of the benign overactive thyroid syndromes (Grave’s disease, autonomy, etc) expressed by increased thyroid hormone output - thyrotoxicosis, followed by the use of I-131 to treat malignant thyroid cancer. The management and treatment of thyrotoxicosis and of thyroid cancer was jointly carried out with the departments of Endocrinology and Radiotherapy, respectively. The treatment of these two entities comprised the bulk of the work, and remain so to date. Treating benign thyroid disease did not require any major change in practice, as patients were treated in the department of Nuclear Medicine on an outpatient basis. However, for thyroid cancer patients, designated rooms had to be identified.