Ready for radioation

[Alex_G]

Hello all,

I had an appointment with radiation oncologist yesterday. He didn’t tell me anything new about my cancer that I don’t know yet. He told me that my treatment will be 17 days and radiation of 16 something (gac if I got him right). He also told me that I need another CT scan for their planning. I told him that I had CT scan 2 week ago already. He told me that he needs another one.

Why they need another CT scan? Is it standard procedure? 16 gac of radiation is it standard dose for Seminoma Stage 1?

Just want to make sure that I’m in safe hands now.

Thanks guys.

[rjs]

Not sure about the second CT scan prior to RT and so close to your last one. I do know that I had xrays done so they could line up the marks on my body to the exact point. Other than that, your individual dosage sounds about right. There is some variation between cases on invididual dosage and the number of days. I am told that it is the total dosage after treatments that really matters most.

Good luck to you on your treatment. RT is relatively easy compared to what others go through. Hang in there, keep asking questions, and be patient. This will soon pass.

-rs

[Sans rt1]

CT scan is part of the setup of the radiation field based on your body layout - they use the CT information to make a 3-d computer model of your frame and major organs - then layout the radiation field to treat the areas where the lymph nodes are, and attempt to avoid as many major organs as possible with the main radiation beam. At least that was the way it was explained to me.

So, when I decided to proceed with the RT, they scheduled two appointments for simulation - about 5 days apart. The first one they did the CT, a chest X-ray, and measured me up on the machine. I went home with 5 sharpie dots covered with adheisive tape. When I came back, I met with the RT doctor, he showed me the 3-d of my body, the radiation field and how it covered the lymph nodes and avoided my major organs. Then, they took me in and I laid on the machine - lined up the dots and checked the set-up - they gave me my tattoos where the dots were - and I was all ready to start my RT.

I had the para-aortic RT, with a total dose of 25.2 cGy, over 15 days. Good luck and be good to yourself during your RT.

[Karen]

Alex,
Sans rt1 summed it up!! The units are "Gray" or Gy, and indicate the amount of absorbed radition you will receive, in total. Seems like 15-25 Gy is where most stage 1 seminomas fall. Good luck...it will be behind you soon!!

[Alex_G]

Thanks guys!!!