Dad started his total skin electron beam (TSEB) treatment on Monday.  He will complete 8 sessions, once per day, for this second round of TSEB.  Dad had his first round of TSEB treatments this past summer.  It really did “melt” those tumors away.  We are hoping for a similar result this time.

Example of what Dad calls the rotisserie.

When Dad speaks to the doctors and nurses about TSEB, he often talks about being on the “rotisserie.”  Everyone gets a good giggle.  But, once you learn exactly what is entailed, it sounds more like a medieval torture device.   In lieu of a photo taken by Dad of the rotisserie at the Moffitt Cancer Center at International Plaza (MIP), I located a drawing of a similar rotisserie.

Internal eye shields for protection.

Each day’s session begins with Dad disrobing out of his regular attire and dressing in a flimsy, overly-ventilated gown.  Dad is always cold in a shirt and slacks, even in the heat of the Florida summer.  He dreads putting on the airy gown.  He has asked to wear two gowns.  He has asked for the staff to reduce or stop the air conditioning.  Nope.  Cool and breezy is the way it remains in the treatment room.  Once Dad is in the gown, he lies on a table where they stretch his eyelids to insert the internal eye shields, which serve as protection from the radiation.  According to Dad, some nurses do a more gentle, less painful insertion while others do not.

After the eye shields are inserted, Dad is unable to see.  He is then stood up and walked over to the round platform. Once up on the round platform, additional protections are implemented.  First, he is given a pair of heavy lead gloves to cover his hands.  He then raises his gloved hands up to the ring above his head.  The ring provides Dad stability and also keeps his arms raised to allow for adequate radiation exposure to his sides, chest and back.  To protect his feet, they put a slab of “jello” on the top of each foot.  Each jello slab is approximately 8″x8″X1″.  He then has a cylinder of “jello” wrapped around each heel to protect the back of his foot.  During the treatment, Dad spins on the round platform.  His top half and bottom half of the body are each treated for 7 minutes for a total of 14 minutes on the rotisserie.

Dad may blindly spin on the rotisserie for the next 6 days, but he’s not chicken to endure the medieval torture called TSEB.

P.S. Dad had his blood drawn and counts checked on Monday.  His hemoglobin level was 8.4.  Platelet count was down to 21.  White blood cell count was down to 1.86.