X's Mark the Spots, Ceiling Tile Mazes

This afternoon's session was, per the radiation oncology staff, the longest one I'll have. The session lasted almost an hour and a quarter, instead of 30 minutes, for a number of reasons. They needed to get exact positioning measurements on my arm while it was in the mold (or casting) that they made 9 days ago. Because I have to have my arm palm up at a strange angle while in the mold, they had to position me off to one side of the table under the X-ray machine that will determine the positioning marks. I had to stick my right thumb in my belt loop to keep my right arm from dangling off the table. This makes me look like I'm preparing to do the children's song "I'm A Little Teapot", which I tell the staff. They laugh and decide for the duration of my radiation therapy they're going to call me "Little Teapot".

Unfortunately, the strange position of my arm makes it very difficult to get the machine positioned correctly. After a couple of X-rays, the head technician, a nice man named Paul, comes back in and tells me that rather than take too many X-rays trying to get things right, they're going to walk me down the hall to the fluoroscope, which will give them the positioning data. So I parade down to the fluoroscope room, where it takes about 40 minutes to get everything set and the pictures taken. Periodically the team comes in and marks me with black markers that they cover with clear tape. They also mark my casting so that they can line me up exactly and quickly each time I come back. Then it was back to the X-ray room where they could take the necessary X-rays and fine tune the marks on my body and casting, which took about another 20-25 minutes. When this was done, I was set to start the actual radiation treatments, which begin tomorrow at 4:30 pm.

It's interesting walking into large rooms dominated by massive machines with tables attached to them, all the while knowing that these machines will shortly begin doing whatever it is they do to you. It feels a bit like being in a combination of a manufacturing shop and a sci-fi movie - steel tables, computer-controlled machinery that whirrs and buzzes and flashes and rotates, staff and technicians moving about calling out numbers, repositioning you remotely, while you just lay there and take it. They do have really great ceiling tiles, though. Several of them have complicated mazes drawn on them. As it was explained to me, people getting treated often have to lie on their backs for extended periods of time and get bored, so they've gotten the maze ceiling tiles so folks have something to occupy their minds while they're staring at the ceiling.

All in all, not a bad start. I have to give kudos to the staff at the radiation center, they were all great, funny, and obviously professionally adept at their jobs. They'll be with me for 25 sessions. Perhaps when I'm done I'll give them a teapot! I hope Paul, Marsha, Judy, and Tammy are ready to have some fun.