Total Body Irradiation

Before Greg could receive his brother's cells, he had to undergo Total Body Irradiation (TBI).  Radiation therapy is the treatment of disease using penetrating beams of high energy waves or streams of particles called radiation.  The radiation used for cancer treatment comes from special machines or from radioactive substances.  Radiation therapy equipment aims specific amounts of radiation at tumors or areas of the body where there is disease.  In Greg's case, this was the ENTIRE BODY. 

Radiation, in high doses, kills cells to keep them from growing and dividing.  Normal cells are also affected by radiation, but unlike cancer cells, most of them recover from the effects of radiation.  To protect normal cells, doctors carefully limit the doses of radiation and spread the treatment out over time.  In Greg's case, he received TBI three times per day for three days.  his treatments were spaced four hours apart, and lasted five minutes for the front of the body  and five minutes for the back of the body.  

This photo shows the radiation machine.  This machine is approximately 10 feet in front of Greg.  Think in terms of a flashlight, where the circle of light is bigger the further away you aim it.  That is the same way the radiation machine works.  It can be moved to a position to aim the radiation from a point above you and relatively close to the body to aim at a small area of the body, or moved further away, to aim at the entire body.  Radiation is much like an x-ray in that you do not see or feel anything.  There are no beams of light that the patient can see while undergoing radiation, and you are unable to feel any of the radiation entering your body. 

In this photo, the radiation therapists are preparing Greg to receive the radiation treatment.  For TBI, Greg must stand very still.  The radiation machine is located in front of Greg (not seen in this photo).  The therapists are setting up special "plates" that were made specifically for Greg to protect his vital organs:  lungs, heart, liver, kidneys.  Because the plates are made of lead, they are quite heavy and must be hung from the frame he is standing in.  

In this photo, Greg is all set to begin radiation.  Here, you can clearly see the lead plates that were designed for him.  The radiation therapists will leave the room, and close a door that is approximately two feet thick that has four lead barriers that are separated by cement so the radiation cannot leak through the room to the rest of the facility.  Greg will have to stand like this for approximately five minutes.  The therapists have piped in music from the CD Greg brought with him (and will crank it if requested) and will speak to him through a microphone while watching on video monitors.  Greg will have to move his legs around a bit so his knees don't lock up (this can cause people to faint) and will be reminded to do this by the therapists.  It is very important that Greg be careful to only move his legs, and not the rest of his body, because the plates must remain over his vital organs.  If he moves too much, the plates will no longer be in the proper position to protect those vital organs.  

This photo shows the therapists watching Greg during the radiation treatment through the video monitors.  If Greg is not moving enough, they will speak to him through the microphone.  The therapists also tell you how much time is left in your treatment so you know how much time you have left.  Sometimes, people like to be talked to a lot, because they may feel so very alone (and scared) during this time.  




Now that the front is done, Greg is turned around, and the plates are hung and taped in place so that the back of his body can receive the radiation therapy.  

Once Greg's three days of TBI are complete, the plates are melted down so that the lead and other alloys in the plates can be re-used to design plates for another individual.  

We always felt this song should be linked to his TBI page!   Enjoy!