No More Time?

[teripo]

I went to the 4th Dr. yesterday..Dr. Timothy Chan in Memorial Sloan Kettering in Manhattan.He suggested I not W/W anymore and proceed with their Xray radiation.He said my hearing is 30% what it should be and may go in a year after treatment[40% chance].My hearing is very important to me still.His treatment is 1 time deal with the head bracket.I am feeling good with the Dr. and reputation of the hospital[even tho it is a Cancer center] but I think I should go for fractionated treatments.Also I met one of the physicists before entering the building and he said their machines are well maintained and CALIBRATED...That was one selling point,but still undecided...Anyone hear of the calibration issue?

[james e]

I was never in the medical business, but I worked on U2 spy planes a long time ago, and they had equipment on them that had to be calibrated in order to work properly. It was simply making checks of voltage, amps, watts, antenna connections, electronic noise, etc. There was a manual for everything on that airplane, and how  to R&R equipment, calibrate it, schedules for checks, etc.

I am sure that most pieces of equipment in hospitals have the same type of manuals, and someone is charge of making sure all of this equipment is safely maintained and operated properly. Ask the doctor if you have any questions.

[teripo]

omg do i feel like I am taking this too far.... but that is what a physicist told me..I will ask the Dr.

[james e]

It is not taking it too far. If they are going to aim a beam of energy at or near my brain, eyes, ears, etc, it better be in calibration. I am sure they will be happy to explain how this thing works and how they calibrate it. There are not any "take overs" in this procedure, so you must ask all the questions and get all the answers.

I had chosen radiation instead of surgery, but after I asked lots of questions, decided surgery was better for me. Nothing against radiation, but it just was not for me. There are lots of excellent outcomes from radiation.

James

[HeadCase2]

hello teripo
  It is probably part of the physicist's job to keep the machine calibrated, so that may be why they brought it up.  These are very high tech machines, so it's good to know they have highly trained people to do so.  As an example, the Gamma Knife (GK) uses radioactive cobalt-60 as a source of radiation.  And cobalt-60 has a half life, which means that through time the source becomes "weaker", until it needs to be replaced.  Part of calibration is to make sure that radiation dosing by the machine is known and accurate.   We'll let the Phd. Nuclear Medical Physicists keep track of this stuff.     This is part of why it takes a team to provide treatmant for AN.
  Most people we hear from on the formum that have used radiosurgery have been treated by either Gamma Knife or Cyber Knife.
Regards,
  Rob

[JLR]

Good Morning Teripo...I, too, checked out Sloan. There are very pro their type of radiation because thats the ONLY type they have. They were not too impressed with CK because they DON'T have it.  I liked the idea of CK because of the very low dose of the radiation on the 3 program that I had.  Please keep in mind that it is just my opinion and that I'm sure you will make the best decision that works for you.  Good luck, JLR  ( oh, I am now 9 months post CK and this has been my best week yet, not too wonky!!)