CT Scan and Markings

Today was the CT scan to gather information for the radiation treatments. It went quite smoothly and was similar to previous CT scans with a couple of exceptions.

The first was that I won’t get a report of the CT scan findings. The information is given to the radiologist to plan the treatment. The simple explanation is that he looks at all the CT slices and indicates which areas to target. This input is merged with the scan data and will drive the radiation device to focus radiation to the areas to be treated, moving me on the table and the head of the radiation device to focus the beam to the correct spots. Computer “magic”!

The second exception was the “Markings”. I was expecting this and they are permanent tattoos used for aligning me to the machine. I thought there would be several + marks on my chest. However, what actually happened was two small dots, one on each side of my torso and unless you’re looking closely, you might miss them all together. I’m good with this.

Schedule is confirmed and starts on October 1st for 5 treatments so I’ll be all done on Wednesday October 7th! More awesome news!

For you techies the radiation treatment is external beam radiation. External beam radiation treatment is given with machines called linear accelerators to deliver precise and focused high-energy x-rays.  There are two options here and we’ll find out on Sept 28th which one will be used. Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) or Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT), catchy names eh? Check the photos and descriptions here.

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One Reply to “CT Scan and Markings”

  1. Thanks for all the clinical updates and descriptions. I’m glad it’s at least the easiest of the options available. After reading everything thoroughly it almost feels like I’m the one experiencing what you are going through. Love you, and wishing you the best of success.

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