Radiation and radioactivity

Abstract

Radioiodine therapy has a unique effect: the patient may become a hazard to other people. Thus, special governmental regulations affect the management of patients who are treated with radioiodine, and the physician administering the radioiodine must comply with these governmental policies. In addition, the treating physician has to understand and communicate the risk of radiation from the radioiodine treatment to the patient, as well as to the patient's family, friends, and caretakers. However, this is not an easy task. A balance must be achieved in convincing the patient to agree with these specific instructions, and at the same time, dispel unnecessary fear. For this balance, the physician should be able to adopt different strategies with different patients, requiring a good working knowledge of radiation and radioactivity, ionizing and nonionizing radiation, and units of radioactivity and radiation dosage. The physician must also know the regulations for hospitalization, conditions for earlier release, radiation safety precautions during hospital stay and upon release, and the myths and fears about radioactivity. This chapter presents an overview of these topics. © 2006 Humana Press Inc.