Ready for Cyberknife

I was injected with dye, had a body mold made of myself, had a CT scan and received a couple of pep talks in Boston today in preparation for my cyberknife treatments next week.

All were to make sure they know exactly where the tumor is and therefore zap the right place in a series of three, two-hour treatments of hyper concentrated radiation. The task is made easier by the operation I had back in June which, among other things, placed markers in the tumor to help guide the radiation. Both the doc and the nurses assured me that the procedure is painless and mostly comfortable even though I have to remain relatively still the whole time. Drugs will help.

Also the procedure will be in an open room with nothing over my head and therefore none of the dread of an MRI exam for me. Our biggest task this week would seem to be to find a good book on tape to listen to during the procedure.

Our doc said the results won't be obvious for a month or so since it takes that long for the effects of the radiation to show up on the tumor. It would be a lie to say I'm still not anxious about undergoing the procedure. But I do feel better about it than I did yesterday. This will be the first time we've really directly attacked the tumor.

The big outstanding issue of course is getting the insurance company to pay for it. So far they're taking the unreasonable position that this is an experimental procedure. But it's been used successfully hundreds of times. We have to figure out a way to make Empire Blue Cross see the light.