My own private Chernobyl

This post has nothing to do with home construction, but I hope it can be useful for someone who takes care of LUTATHERA patients.

Four years ago my mother-in-law was diagnosed with carcinoid syndrome. Although she underwent a traditional treatment, the tumor was still growing, so her doctor decided to put her on LUTATHERA which showed good outcomes in Europe but only started to get traction in the US in recent years. There are no guarantees, but with no alternatives, she agreed to give it a try.

The good thing about LUTATHERA: it's not a chemo, so it's normally not accompanied by the same side effects. The bad thing about LUTATHERA: it's radioactive. Like Chernobyl radioactive. Patients on LUTATHERA have to stay away from other people and especially children. We learned about this several weeks before her first treatment scheduled for May 11, 2021. And, boy, were we glad that our accessory dwelling unit ("ADU") was almost ready.

As luck had it, the final inspection was also scheduled for May 11, and even though it did not pass on the first try, the corrections that had to be made did not require inspectors to enter the house. About 30 minutes after the workers left, I brought my mother-in-law from the hospital and she was radiating. Literally!

We got the post-treatment instructions from the hospital and also checked the information online. The general consensus is that you need to stay at least 6 feet away from a LUTATHERA patient and avoid contact (especially with the patient's fluids: sweat, saliva, urine, blood) for 1-2 weeks. To be on the safe side I bought the GQ GMC300EPlus Fulfill Digital Nuclear Radiation Detector Monitor Meter to measure radiation levels.

This is what we found out after three weeks (post treatment):

• The normal level of radiation around our house and property is about 15-25 CPM (under 50 CPM is safe).
• When measure next to the patient's stomach after the procedure, the radiation level is around 2,000 CPM.
• On the day of the treatment, the radiation level outside of the room with the patient present (patient is inside of the house, I'm measuring outside of the house) was over 700 CPM.
• The radiation seems to follow the patient (once the patient leaves a room, the radiation level in the room drops to normal).
• The radiation goes through the walls and windows.
• After 3 weeks, the radiation outside of the house got back to normal unless it's measured right next to the patient (e.g. if it's measure next to a window with the patient right behind the glass).
• The radiation level measured close to the patient is still above 500 CPM.
• At 10 feet or so (from the patient), the radiation level drops to an acceptable level (under 100 CPM).

I'm somewhat relieved to learn that radiation does not seem to get attached to things (not counting clothes, bedding, since I have not tested these, yet). But if the trend continues, it does look like my mother-in-law will continue to be radioactive for a while, so it would be safer to keep her isolated until all four of her scheduled treatments are done (the treatments must be repeated every two months). 

The only thing I can say at this point is: thanks, God, for the ADU! I have no idea what we would have done without it.

P.S. In addition to measuring radiation level on my side of the property, I also checked my closest neighbor and it looked normal on their side.

UPDATE (June 1, 2021): 3 weeks after the treatment, radiation level next to the patient is about 160 CPM.

UPDATE (June 7, 2021): 4 weeks after the treatment, radiation level next to the patient is mostly normalized (in the 40-60 CPM range),except mornings when it's still over 200 CPM.

UPDATE (July 23, 2021): After the second treatment, we see the same pattern. The radiation level when measured next to the patient stays close to 2,000 CPM for a couple of weeks, but it drops at a distance of 6 or more feet. After 3-4 weeks, the level drops to under 1,000 CPM. Two more treatments to go.

UPDATE (August 30, 2021): Right after the third treatment, the radiation level when measured next to the patient was close to 8,000 CPM.

UPDATE (October 26, 2021): The fourth and last treatment went fine. One thing I found out on the way back: the radiation level increases dramatically with every foot. On the way home with the patient at the back seat of 2007 Toyota Sienna, the radiation level measured by the monitor place in a cupholder in front of the center console ranged between 165 and 210 CPMs, but when I moved the monitor to a cup holder at the back of the center console (which is less than 2 feet away), it jumped to the neighborhood of 700 CPMs. So, when transporting a patient, use the longest car you can find. (On a separate note, there seems to be no residual radiation left in the car once the patient is out.)

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