Cyberknife Complete!

E. completed the third and final Cyberknife treatment today. Yay! The people in that office are nothing but nice. We loved them when E. was there a year and a half ago for radiation and were thrilled to see so many familiar faces when we returned this time. We highly recommend these folks for all your radiation needs. Should you happen to have any radiation needs, that is.

Been wondering what the face mask/mold thingie looks like that we've been talking about? Remember, it started out as a flat floppy piece of plastic, which was warmed and molded to E.'s face where it hardened into this shape . . .

For each Cyberknife treatment, his face fit perfectly into the mold to hold him still. He could breathe fine through the plastic netting material and even open his eyes and look around if he wanted. It did keep his chin in an awkward position, tilted up, which I think added a bit more to the pressure on the back of his head. The plastic rim around the sides slid into grooves and there were snaps which locked into place. He wasn't going anywhere. Remember the days of defensive tactics ... where the head goes, the body will follow? Well, if the head isn't going anywhere, neither is the body!

So, he lays on that table, all alone in that room. A huge metal door closes as the radiation folks leave. They then control everything via remote control. The can see and hear everything E. does and they speak to him through the intercom. That big machine you see is the actual Cyberknife. It moves around E. and shoots the radiation where it needs to, based on the intricate mapping they previously did using the CT and the MRI scans. E. says he keeps his eyes shut the whole time but can tell there are bright lights around him.

I won't even pretend that I understand half of what Cyberknife is about. I just hope it's kicking some bad guy ass in E.'s brain, while leaving us the ornery fart we know and love.

Okay, Cyberknife is done. What now? Now, we wait for about eight weeks and then E. goes for another MRI, which hopefully tells us everything was a raging success!

(P.S. My first day of "SASH" ... Saline, Antibiotic, Saline (but no Heparin because of the brain stuff) went off with only minor speed bumps ... and only one call to the infusion nurse.)