dry run

I had the dry run this morning. One of the therapists showed me the area from where they would monitor me and operate the accelerator. Then they took me into the room where I saw the machine for the first time...it looked a lot like this, but more of a beige color.and then they used it to take a few x-rays. After they were done the therapist showed me the x-rays from today, compared to CT scan taken when they put the alignment marks and tattoos on me. To me, and to the therapist, they looked EXACTLY the same. The cross hairs matched perfectly from one picture to another.

By now my doctor has met with the medical physicist and mapped out my treatment--how much radiation will go to which parts of me. Tomorrow the real treatments begin. The doctor advised me to make sure I have a full bladder, but not to the point of discomfort. That is supposed to help lessen urinary side effects of radiation.

Interestingly, the male therapist who helped me (let's call him Rick) looks younger than me and yet he too is a prostate cancer patient. Diagnosed last year, underwent the same robotic prostatectomy as me, at the same hospital. He hasn't gotten his first PSA back yet.

On my way back to work I stopped by a lab and had blood drawn, for PSA and CBC.