matt's radiation

i went to matt's treatment with him today, both for the opportunity to experience free parking in boston and for the chance to better understand what he has to go through every morning. matt asked if it would be ok if i watched the techs get him set up for the radiation, and they were very willing to let me look on and ask questions. i think they enjoyed explaining all the aspects of the treatment. in this first photo, matt is lying on the table and they are using lasers to position him.

they also let me photograph the grid that appears on his stomach. the area that will be exposed to radiation is illuminated and the area that will not be exposed is in shadow.

we then left matt alone in the room and proceeded to the monitoring area, where jason uses two computers to properly administer the treatment. the yellow and green images in the folder in front of him are ct scans of matt, which were used to determine the location for radiation. you can also see matt in the two black and white screens. they keep an eye on him during the brief treatment to make sure he doesn't move.