At my last appointment on November 3, 2016, after deciding to cancel our trip to Nicaragua, I signed some consent forms for radiation treatment.
Planning my treatment involved an MRI Sim and CT Sim, some
tattoos, a customized mold of my derriere … and an appointment with a medical
oncologist to discuss my chemotherapy.
Remarkably, there was a cancellation that afternoon and I
spent the day at the Princess Margaret Cancer CareCentre MRI Sim and CT Sim department.
Okay treatment fears aside … this stuff is way too cool!
They took another MRI and another CT scan so that they can create a
3D computer image of my pelvic area. During the process they mimic a radiation therapy session, without the radiation. This is called simulation planning. Since the technicians can’t physically see the radiation, or
the inside of my body they will use the 3D image to direct the radiation beam
to target the pelvic lymph nodes and the area of skin where my tumour was
removed.
To ensure that my body is aligned with the 3D image during every treatment three small dot-like tattoos, one on each hip and the third at the tail bone, were marked on my skin. They also made a customized mold to help immobilize my pelvis and provide a layer of material for the radiation to travel through before it comes in contact with my skin.
To ensure that my body is aligned with the 3D image during every treatment three small dot-like tattoos, one on each hip and the third at the tail bone, were marked on my skin. They also made a customized mold to help immobilize my pelvis and provide a layer of material for the radiation to travel through before it comes in contact with my skin.
My treatment will be for five weeks, twenty-five treatments, Monday to Friday,
starting November 21, 2016.
The sessions are short, generally only 20-25 minutes in the
procedure room. Most of the time is spent positioning the body so that everything,
some parts of the pelvis need to be moved out of the way, is in the same place each
time, the actual period receiving the radiation about five minutes.
I’m also told that the process is painless. Radiation
treatment does not hurt.
I have been warned, however, that by the third week it’s going to feel like one helluva sunburn … and the sun don’t usually shine there, unless you hang out at Toronto's Hanlan’s Point. By the third week I will be
so uncomfortable that I won’t be able to sit or stand for long periods.
References
What to Expect When
Having Radiation Therapy
Cancer.net
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