A day in the life of a radiotherapy patient
For those about to undergo radiation treatment or those just interested in what’s involved, here’s a typical day in one of the thirty days when I’m zapped for my own good.
I wake up late. Radiother...
Forum Discussion
Hi Mita,
I agree with you. It's essential to ask about this rather than worry. In my case I was able to see how the targetted radiation would miss my heart completely. Because of the location of the tumour site they 'zapped' me from both sides of the breast for 25 cycles and the angle meant it only just skimmed my ribs. When I had the five 'boost' treatments it was explained to me that the depth of this treatment is monitored, along with the location. As my radiation oncologist put it, "The technology is now three dimensional and we can be very specific about what we target. The only thing we can't make it do is to bend around corners." For some people that means their heart is in the way of treatment and extra sheilding is needed. I also think it's worth checking what kind of equipment your treatment centre has, as the technological changes in the last decade have made a huge difference.
Here's the link to the clinic I used, showing the equipment details. Based on my research this is the current 'state of the art' equipment. Of course, many people in regional areas are forced to just accept whatever is locally available.
Best wishes with your treatment and I hope some of the things that worked for me will also work for you.
Meg
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