Eli has been requesting that I post photos of his stitches, so I took a few at our radiation mapping appointment earlier this week.

We met with the radiation team to get Eli prepped for radiation, which begins in a little over a week. First, they put a gel like thing on the bottom of his foot and wrapped it up. The gel thing helps more radiation to treat nearer skin. The doctor said the foot tumor was near the surface, of his foot, so they want to make sure to treat that area.

Then they made a mold for his foot to rest in, so that he is in the same position every time he receives radiation. This involved a bean bag like thing being placed under his foot and held there while it hardened.

Next, they pulled a mesh thing out of a hot water bath to create a mold for the top of his foot. It, too, was held in place while it hardened.

They also taped a metal shell over Eli’s reproductive organs to minimize radiation exposure.

A non-diagnostic CT scan was done to map exactly where everything was to aid in placing small, freckle sized tattoos, and ensure exact radiation treatment locations.

After the CT scan, they marked and applied tattoos to 6 locations on Eli’s hips, abdomen, and leg. The first one was quite painful, but the rest weren’t too bad.

They also marked the mesh foot mold and removed it. Eli’s foot will be placed in the mold every radiation treatment. Eli requested to keep it when we’re all done with radiation.

Our next meeting with the radiation team will be for simulation, which is a practice session, before they do the first actual radiation treatment. Treatment is every weekday, except holidays, for 28 treatments. Treatment time lasts 30-45 minutes. This is what a treatment room looks like.