CT Simulation

The man in white is short and over-weight. He gave the impression of one who had been on the same job for too long. The surly expression on his face is typical of most administrative staff at the hospital. He preferred cash payments. We told him we're using a credit card.

"We'll have to go outside to swipe the card," he said, emphasizing on the word outside so we understand the significance of his inconvenience. Reluctantly, he got to his feet and lumbered heavily towards the main cashier at the Oncology Ward. He was right. Outside was quite some distance from where he was rooted, all thirty feet of it.

On the other hand, the young Radiation Oncologists at Radiotherapy were motivated and friendly. I'm not sure if age had anything to do with their states of mind but it certainly looked like it did.

The Radiotherapy Section at the Oncology Ward was quiet that morning. Most of the patients were there for their radiotherapy sessions. I was there for the CT Simulation which typically precedes all treatment.  What this simulation does is this.  It scans your body to identify the parts or area to be marked for the ensuing radiotherapy.

I was led into a room dominated by a machine bigger in size than the one used for CT Scans. A cylindrical bar wrapped in rubber with a diameter of about 5 inches lay across the middle portion of the sliding bed. That's for your derrière. Further up is the pillow. Beyond the pillow are two arm-rests and bars for you to hold on to.  I was asked to lift up my arm and lay them on the arm-rest beyond my head. I could not see what they were doing but it felt like they were laying paper tapes to demarcate the perimeter for the scan. Then they started drawing lines on my chest with a blue marker pen. They were polite and professional in their conduct.

When all the markings were done, they left to station themselves outside the machine room where a row of computers await their keystrokes.

The machine whirred to life. The bed slided into the hollow ring. The metal plate on the inner ring started to spin. I shut my eyes.

It was over in a squeeze of a lime.

The young doctors returned to make more markings on my chest. One of them read out the measurements while the other recorded them on what looked like a score sheet. I was given a few alcoholic swabs to remove the markings.

The leading Radiation Oncologist, a middle-aged woman spoke to me next. Since my lump went into the deep margin, they have decided to give me what they called the 5X Boost at that particular area of my chest where the cancer cells are most likely to recur.

I'm not sure what this 5X Boost will do to me so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.