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6/24/06

At 7:30 am on Friday 6/23/06, we saw Dr. F, a radiology oncologist, who is the director of the radiology department of the University of Massachusetts Hospital, to discuss my upcoming treatment. The method/machine to be used is called IMRT (Intensity-modulated radiation therapy), the most innovative technique that uses computer-based calibration to accurately apply the radiation in 3D fashion.

One of the web sites says:
“It uses sophisticated software and hardware to vary the shape and intensity of radiation delivered to different parts of the treatment area. It is one of the most precise forms of external beam radiation therapy available.”

What I had to do was lie still (without wiggling) in the CT scan machine for about 50 minutes, while it scaned my body, calibrated, and verified. At the end of the session the technician gave me several tattoos on my side, and along the stomach for therapy guidance.

The regiment is for 28 days (5 days a week), and total amount of radiation is 5040 centigrade (?), 180 daily, starting on June 29. Since my 6 week long weekly chemotherapy starts on June 26, all chemo/X-ray treatment will be done on August 7.

It is nice to see at least one of the milestones, no matter how I fair with the treatment.

One of the things I have wanted to start and never felt I could afford, time-wise, is to learn how to draw and paint. This morning, optimistically, I went to the Worcester Arts Museum Summer Workshop site, and found a 5 day watercolor workshop that starts on August 7. I decided to register for the class with a contingent withdrawal option.

One of the interesting things Dr. F mentioned was that the radiation kills off cancer cells effectively because the only thing they do is grow, while other healthy cells are equipped and balanced with growth, repair, and various other functions. My image of the cancer cell is the dot.com bust that happened during the year 2000 in the US; most of the Internet based business conceived during that period busted because they only had a growth idea without good business model and infrastructure.

He also said that one out of nine people in the US is a cancer survivor now. The number is quite significant.

Since it was an early appointment, it was still 10:00 in the morning when we left the hospital. We drove back in Miata, with top down. It was an utterly beautiful New England summer day.