After a few days I was starting to get into the routine of the radiation treatments. The instrument has a large arm with a cylindrical head at the end that extends over the top of my body. I lie on the table with my legs braced by the foam mold that was created during the CT scan and the table is moved upward and into position. Two radiation techs, one on either side adjust my position by lining up the three tattoos on my hips and groin with laser sights on the IMRT instrument. Typically, the techs do most of the moving, but my back is so sensitive that I did much better adjusting myself while listening to their instructions, e.g. up 4 cm, right 2 cm, etc. After alignment two images were taken, one vertical and one horizontal to verify alignment prior to treatment. I had to keep my body perfectly still to maintain alignment for the remainder of each treatment. After the images were taken the arm of the instrument rotated around my body stopping at 9 positions to fire the radiation beam for about 30 sec. each. It only takes about 15 – 20 minutes for each treatment session, but it seems like eternity when you’re lying there on the table trying your best not move. David Banner I’m not and my back would be so fatigued from holding that position so intensely that I needed a hand to get up off the table.
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| Example of an IMRT radiation instrument |
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