The second radiation oncology consult

I wrote about going to this appointment but then I didn't actually write about it. This was the "second opinion" but also the "getting to know the local team" visit. It's technically a part of the Johns Hopkins system; they can pull up my JH records electronically. However, they are also technically run out of Suburban Hospital.

I met with a female oncologist, Dr. H, who had excellent bedside manner and seemed very knowledgeable. All the information was the same as the last radiation consultation, same info on procedure and side effects (long and short). When I asked her point blank, "After seeing my images and reading my reports, is your recommendation to do the treatment?" she said a definitive "yes" and cited the same reasons as the other specialists. They have 1 machine that is 10 years old and another that is new in the last year. The newer one "does a quick CT for positioning" before the actual radiation treatment that only takes about 2-4 minutes. Of course I requested the new one and she said that all brain cancer patients get the new machine since the disease a lot more position sensitive than other parts of the body. Yes, I would think so.

Since that was the afternoon before we were leaving for 1.5 weeks that same evening, she said if we were going to start in August that I needed to do the CT scan immediately for their week long planning/mapping process. They squeezed me in before the tech took down the machine for the night.

I have a new mask. It's a serious Hannibal Lecter type of thing. Imagine a big blue hard plastic horseshoe, big enough that it would go in an arch over your head from the end of your jaw, over and back to the other end of your jaw. Then attach a plastic mesh in the middle of that horseshoe. Have you ever had a plastic cast made? It's like that. They put the plastic in warm water to make it moldable, then he stretched it a little bit before laying it over my head. I am not joking when I say it covers the whole scalp and face, from the crown of the head to under the chin. He formed it over my head and let it cool, tugging on the nose area every once in a while to make sure I had a good pocket to breathe.

It's extremely claustrophobic. He let it harden completely while they did the initial planning CT scan. Did I forget to mention that the blue plastic horseshoe is literally clamped to the table? Then he marked the mask with axis's to make sure it lines up perfectly in the machine every time. This is my new mask that I get to wear for about 20-30 minutes daily for 6 weeks. They put it over my face and clamp it to the table to position me for the radiation therapy treatments. I'm pretty sure I'll be taking a xanax before every appointment!

T minus 12 days to treatment 1.