Radiation Planning

Two nice folks did my fitting for my "radiation mask" today.  Like virtually everything related to medicine, it was a trip.  Not a pleasant trip, mind you.  But, a trip.  So, the crucial thing is they have to get me in a fixed position that they will be able to recreate for the 35 treatments.  (My six week treatment has now expanded to seven...).

They first put me on a table with my head in a sort of rest.  But, the head rest has to be perfect to get my position just like they want it. To that purpose, they have some material that they activate with water to shape to my head for each treatment.  After that head thing hardened, they put my knees over a hump (it helps the back), with my feet against a board.  I had to hold some straps to pull the board towards me thereby keeping my shoulders where they wanted them.   I happened to wear the "radiation wear" of choice: a tank top.  They needed to put a little tattoo on my chest for later when they line me up...All that was quite comfortable.


The picture below isn't of the tattoo.  It is just a little point.  But, they put an X over the point and then the little metal thing for the PET scan that was soon to come...(I had this on until I came home to San Jose, so we could take one picture! I so suck that I didn't think to have Leslie take pictures of this process. Sorry!)

Next, they made the radiation mask. They had this mesh material which they heated up and stretched over my face.  It starts out nicely warm and cools down.  Below is an image I found from google; I later found out it came from a cancer diary of Tom Neth.  Thanks, Tom!

I will get to keep my mask after the whole thing is done, which I can clearly use in some costume at some point.

Anyway, if that was all that happened, I would have thought it was fine and not a problem at all, but instead I had a form of torture.  Waterboarding, specifically.

This was the first thing in my little medical odyssey (beyond bureaucracy) that I have truly hated.  Getting the radiation mask would have been no big deal if it hadn't been for the fact that they put these teeth proctectors on and this little tube in my mouth to both breath through and keep my tongue in the right position.  So, the back of my throat filled with saliva which I couldn't really swallow—though I did try!!—and, as I breathed, the water came up the tube.  I tried just breathing through my nose, but the same thing happened. So, I had this drowning feel for about a half hour while they are doing whatever it was they are doing to make sure my head was exactly where they wanted it.  Now, that was not fun. At all. I couldn't find a google image of that...  Later in the day, I had to repeat the mask and mouth stuff for a PET scan, but the tube wasn't in so far so it wasn't nearly as bad.  Small favor.

The radiologist thinks we might get this whole thing going sometime next week.  I am busy with various appointments that happen before that point.  And, I have to move. And, take Leslie to the airport.  And, go away for the weekend.  So, I feel quite busy.  I will report more when things are set.