follow ups

To monitor a brain tumor patient, our surgeon does MRI's on a regular basis. If I remember right, he did one in March 2001 which was clear. By clear, I mean so sign of tumor. It did show extreme devastation. You can clearly see the area where the tumor was. It left a large hole in the brain. The tumor was the size of a fist. Now it was gone, leaving the void.

The next Mri was in September 2001. Not so lucky. It was growing back and needed to be addressed. Surgery wasn't deemed necessary. Stereotatic radio-surgery would be the answer. It goes by many names, but basically it's pinpoint cobalt radiation. A large stainless type bowl, resembling a macaroni strainer, was secured to Marie's head. Then that apparatus was locked down to a table that rolls into the radiation machine. Some of the holes in this strainer object were left opened, and some remained closed. When the cobalt was turned on, the radiation flowed through the open holes, in a linear fashion. The lines of radiation intersected at the tumor, with the hope of damaging the lesion. The radiation was left on for a small amount of time and then stopped. Marie was rotated, so that the radiation could be given again, coming from a different angle.

If I remember correctly, the procedure was done in thirteen intervals. Before it started, they did an MRI . A team met, and plan out the entire scenario. How many intervals, what angles, the amount of exposure time. This was all very precise. Very scientific. At the time, there were not that many of these machines around. This was a Gamma-Knife machine, and we had to dive to Lincoln Nebraska for treatment. After the radiation, Marie was kept in the hospital overnight for observation.

This was even more "Mad Scientist" to me than the surgery on Halloween day. Weird looking machinery, literally screwed into your head. Being zapped with radiation. An unforeseen force, killing cells in your brain. And that's the good stuff.

But would it work?