Radiation Consultation
This morning I went to Stanford to meet with the radiation specialist that has done my two previous raditation treatments, Dr. Kapp. He reminds me of the scientist guy from "Back to the Future," so I always get a kick out of seeing him. Him and his fellow went over my history (since the last time I saw him) and did a physical check-up. Unfortunately the computer systems were down at Stanford this morning, so they weren't able to take a look at my past PET/CT scans. Of course that was the most crucial part since they need to see the exact location of my tumor growth to determine if further radiation can be done.
Dr. Kapp did mention a radiation treatment option that could be possible. It's called IMRT (Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy). Below is a short overview view of it:
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced mode of high-precision radiotherapy that utilizes computer-controlled x-ray accelerators to deliver precise radiation doses to a malignant tumor or specific areas within the tumor. The radiation dose is designed to conform to the three-dimensional (3-D) shape of the tumor by modulating—or controlling—the intensity of the radiation beam to focus a higher radiation dose to the tumor while minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding normal tissues. Treatment is carefully planned by using 3-D computed tomography (CT) images of the patient in conjunction with computerized dose calculations to determine the dose intensity pattern that will best conform to the tumor shape. Typically, combinations of several intensity-modulated fields coming from different beam directions produce a custom tailored radiation dose that maximizes tumor dose while also protecting adjacent normal tissues. (http://www.radiologyinfo.org/content/therapy/imrt.htm#how)
He still has to take a look at my scan and see how close my tumor is to the spinal cord. The biggest risks in my case (because of the location of my tumor) are permanent damage to the spinal cord (causing paralysis), damage to the heart, lungs, esophagus, and other surrounding organs, pneumonitis, and mucusitis. These were the same risks the second time I had radiation, but now they are increased with a possible third round.
So the next step is for me to have a PET/CT within the next week or so to evaluate the exact size/location of my growth. At that point Dr. Kapp will decide whether we can do further treatment (it would be much less than what I've had in the past). If we can move forward, I will go in for measuring and tatooing (yet again), and I could start treatment as early as a month from now. I would probably be able to remain on the Procarbazine chemo that I'm taking now since the side effects are so minor.
I guess I can say that today's appointment went better than expected. I definitely thought the immediate answer was going to be "no way, no more radiation." IMRT has only been around at Stanford for the past six months, so it's a very new treatment option and one that I'm VERY grateful for. This just goes to show how new options are becoming available all the time and there's always more and more hope for people battling these terrible diseases.
Dr. Kapp did mention a radiation treatment option that could be possible. It's called IMRT (Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy). Below is a short overview view of it:
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced mode of high-precision radiotherapy that utilizes computer-controlled x-ray accelerators to deliver precise radiation doses to a malignant tumor or specific areas within the tumor. The radiation dose is designed to conform to the three-dimensional (3-D) shape of the tumor by modulating—or controlling—the intensity of the radiation beam to focus a higher radiation dose to the tumor while minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding normal tissues. Treatment is carefully planned by using 3-D computed tomography (CT) images of the patient in conjunction with computerized dose calculations to determine the dose intensity pattern that will best conform to the tumor shape. Typically, combinations of several intensity-modulated fields coming from different beam directions produce a custom tailored radiation dose that maximizes tumor dose while also protecting adjacent normal tissues. (http://www.radiologyinfo.org/content/therapy/imrt.htm#how)
He still has to take a look at my scan and see how close my tumor is to the spinal cord. The biggest risks in my case (because of the location of my tumor) are permanent damage to the spinal cord (causing paralysis), damage to the heart, lungs, esophagus, and other surrounding organs, pneumonitis, and mucusitis. These were the same risks the second time I had radiation, but now they are increased with a possible third round.
So the next step is for me to have a PET/CT within the next week or so to evaluate the exact size/location of my growth. At that point Dr. Kapp will decide whether we can do further treatment (it would be much less than what I've had in the past). If we can move forward, I will go in for measuring and tatooing (yet again), and I could start treatment as early as a month from now. I would probably be able to remain on the Procarbazine chemo that I'm taking now since the side effects are so minor.
I guess I can say that today's appointment went better than expected. I definitely thought the immediate answer was going to be "no way, no more radiation." IMRT has only been around at Stanford for the past six months, so it's a very new treatment option and one that I'm VERY grateful for. This just goes to show how new options are becoming available all the time and there's always more and more hope for people battling these terrible diseases.
posted by Erika @ 8:27 PM
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