m so glad that I did because two years after that I had a recurrence
and would not have been able to have the radioactive
iodine treatment (RAI or I-131) if I still had half of my thyroid.
The youngest sister had her cancer spread to her breasts, stomach, and liver (they can easily find it with radioactive iodine scans - thyroid tissue absorbs iodine). She needed 3 RAI treatments but is now 100% cancer free and has had two beautiful daughters since then.