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Treatment Plan
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There is a series of appointments necessary to prepare for radiation, i.e. Consultation, Simulation, Pre-ports. You and your family or significant others who support you will have an appointment with our Oncology Resource Nurse to offer you support and education about your radiation experience. She is also available to you as a resource and support while you are on treatment. She will help the physician to monitor your course of treatment.
Consultation
On your first visit you will have a consultation appointment with the Radiation Oncologist. At this appointment, the doctor will take your medical history, examine you and discuss your treatment options. Prior to this visit, the doctor will have reviewed all your work-up studies and can explain the role of radiation therapy for your type of disease. If both you and the Radiation Oncologist agree that radiation therapy is best for you, the next step in the course is planning your treatment course.
The next appointment you will have is called a CT Simulation.
Simulation
Simulation is the process by which the area to be treated is identified with a special machine called a simulator. The simulation will be done by a registered Radiation Therapist under the direction of your physician.
The therapist determines the best position for you. In order to help you hold still during your treatments, special devices are made and the scan is done in the treatment position.
A simulator takes images of the area to be treated. These images are sent to our treatment planning system where the doctor can identify and outline the area to be treated.
Allow about an hour for your simulation but often it will take less time and the procedure is painless.
Designing your treatment plan
After your planning session, your treatment plan is designed according to the doctor's instructions. To avoid treating normal tissue, the plan usually has several beams aimed at the target, coming in from different angles.
It is during the planning that the doctor and physicist determine which technique is best for your treatments.
The plan is then double checked by our team of physicists and therapists. Once the plan has been approved and signed by the physician, you will be scheduled for a verification procedure to make sure your set-up matches the plan, exactly (called Pre-ports).
How many treatments will I have?
The number of treatments is different for each person. At the completion of CT simulation, the physicians, therapists, or nurses can usually tell you how many treatments the doctor has planned for you.
Pre-Ports
Pre-ports are films of each treatment angle which are checked by the doctor for accuracy before you start your treatments. This check also allows the physician to make minor adjustments to your plan. Once the films are approved you are ready for your first treatment.
Daily Treatments
The treatments usually start 7-10 days following your simulation. You will have a treatment daily, Monday through Friday with no treatments on the weekends or major holidays. Depending on how busy the clinic is, our schedule starts early in the morning until early in the evening.
Our staff will do their best to schedule at a time that is most convenient for you. Sometimes it may take a week or so to get an available time that works best for you and that will be your regular treatment time.
The staff will reschedule your treatment times, if you have other appointments during your regularly scheduled appointment.
The treatment is delivered on a Linear Accelerator using very complex treatment techniques. Built into the head of the accelerator are special leaves which are programmed to travel across the path of the beam, in a specific pattern, during your treatment. This pattern modifies the intensity of the beam so that sensitive areas are shielded or receive a low dose, while the target areas receive a higher dose.