I had an appointment with the radiation oncologist and the radiation therapist today at 10 am. As usual, the prep consisted of an enema the night before and one three hours before the appointment. I have now had a grand total of 6 of them over the course of my last 3 appointments. 6 down, 2 to go next Monday and that will be it. I also had to drink 16 ounces of water one hour prior to the appointment and then had to hold it until everything was over. The purpose of having a full bladder was to make sure I was able to do that right because I will need to do it before each of the 45 radiation treatments. It helps protect not only the bladder but other surrounding tissue from side effects caused by the radiation. Once I was ready, I was placed on a table with a special material that formed to my lower body. The radiation therapist told me to pretend I was a sack of potatoes and just let her move me around until I was in exactly the right position to do the CT scan that forms one of the baselines for my therapy. I finally have found something that I am qualified to do, just call me Mr. Potato Head! The impression of my body will become the mold that I will lie in for each treatment and will help to keep me perfectly still and in the exact same position each time. The oncologist came in and was happy with the imaging. The last step was to give me 3 tiny tattoos less than the size of a medium BIC pen dot, one on each hip and one on the front of one of my upper thighs. These dots will also be used in targeting the radiation. I thought I would make it through this life without tattoos, but I was wrong. The appointment was about 40 minutes and they let me use their restroom when we were done. I was very thankful!
Next Monday will mark the last of the preparation. I'll be getting an MRI at 7 am and that information will be added to the other data gathered today. It will be used by my radiation team to create a custom treatment plan specific to my body. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into this planning that the patient never sees and I am thankful for the diligence that each of the folks I've met obviously possessed. Great leaps have been made in the last 5 years or so in the accuracy with which they can deliver the radiation, so much so that the dosages are about a quarter more per treatment with less side effects than they once had, since they are pinpointing the cancer. I'm blessed to live in this remarkable time.
More to follow after the grand finale MRI prior to starting the actual radiation on June 1st. Thanks again for all of the prayers and well wishes. It means a lot to me. Thank you, Jesus!
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