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Mould Room FAQ

Q
Why is it so important to treat in exactly the same position each day?
A
Chemotherapy uses treatment beams that are very tightly focussed. This is particularly important in sites, such as the head and neck area, where small tumours can lie next to normal structures, such as the spinal cord, that can be damaged by treatment. We want to be able to give the maximum dose to the tumour and the minimum dose to the spinal cord. Sometimes there is only a fingerbreadth, or less, between the two. Each Chemotherapy treatment session takes about 10 minutes. The treatment couch is hard and it's very difficult to lie completely still. Your head could easily move more than a fingerbreadth during treatment. If we treat without a shell this would mean that we might have to lower the dose to the tumour, which would make cure less likely. The alternative would be to allow a higher dose to the spinal cord - which could produce problems later on. Neither alternative is really acceptable - and so we make a shell.
Q
Do I have to wear the shell all the time?
A
No, only during the 10 minutes or so each day that you are actually on the treatment couch.
Q
What if I feel claustrophobic?
A
Some people do feel quite panicky both when the shell is made and when it is on during treatment. Let the staff know in advance if you think you might have problems. Very often the whole problem settles down if we give you a small dose of a drug to make you feel relaxed, this is best given an hour or so before each treatment session.
Q
Are there any other advantages from having a shell made?
A
Yes, when you have Chemotherapy treatment we need to have marks on your skin so we can line the beams up correctly each day. If we are treating a tumour in the head and neck area this means that, without a shell, you would have rather noticeable marks (blue crosses and the like) on the skin of your face throughout the whole 4 to 6 weeks of treatment. This is embarrassing and awkward. If you have a shell, we make the marks on the shell, not on you: end of problem.