The marvels of technology

On July 28th, a feeding tube was inserted into Sam’s stomach to help him be able to receive more nourishment than he has been able to receive by mouth. Despite spiking a fever for a few hours, he is doing well with the tube placement.

After he recovered from the tube proceedure, he was taken to the radiation department for his daily dose of gamma rays. The technicians and staff were really wonderful and allowed me to view the monitors and even take pictures of that area. It was fascinating stuff. Don't hesitate to ask questions, if you want to know more. UPMC Passavant has the newer technology called IMRT (short for Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy). The intensity of the radiation in IMRT can be changed during treatment to spare more adjoining normal tissue than is spared during conventional radiation therapy. Because of this an increased dose of radiation can be delivered to the tumor using IMRT. Intensity modulated radiation therapy is a type of conformal radiation, which shapes radiation beams to closely approximate the shape of the tumor. Amazing!



I think the area they are targeting looks like a map of New Hampshire. I know, I'm really weird.