This
week begins the fourth week of radiation? How am I doing? Basically
the same as the first three weeks in terms of radiation. (Well not
exactly.) There is no skin irritation even though the oil and sweat
glands in the line of bombardment are supposed to shut down.
I
have the routine down pat. I lay on the slab, the radiation
therapists see to it I am properly aligned, then retreat to the
control room.
The linear particle accelerator (LINAC) is like the mouth of a
gigantic squid with three tentacles extending outward, two short ones
on each side and a long bigger one in the middle. You can see
pictures of this monster on the Internet. The design eliminates the
claustrophobic feeling one gets in scanners where one lays still in a
a tube.
Once I am on the slab and the technicians throw the “On”
switch, the machine comes to life. I am elevated to midline of the
squid’s mouth, the two side tentacles extend outward and whir
around me. One is an x-ray, the other a CT scan. It stops and takes
about 5 minutes to align and calibrate the exact location of my
prostate.
Then
the main tentacle extends forward. I am bombarded from different
positions nine times for between 11 and 15 seconds each. LINAC
revolves in a 360 degree arc choosing these 9 positions. The
radiation shoots right through me. Each of these bombardments
intersect in my prostrate. Other organs and tissues receive minimal
radiation.
The
goal of radiation is not to kill malignant cells. Rather, it is to
influence the DNA of malignant cells so they cannot divide and
proliferate. This is why the treatment lasts 9 weeks Monday through
Friday. I was looking at the scan and though the prostate, bladder
and surrounding organs were clearly visible, there is no
differentiation in the view of the prostate itself. In other words,
there is no visible change in the view of the prostate as a result of
radiation. Neither is there any change in size. In other words,
there is no feedback.
After
treatment it is the PSA that is monitored periodically. If the PSA
is within an acceptable magnitude and stays the same indicates the
success of the treatment.
