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Fiducial markers- are they necessary?

Posted by janalynnmoon @janalynnmoon, Oct 20 9:25am

Hello! My father has prostate cancer and we are trying to decide between two different cancer treatment facilities- one uses markers and tattoos and one uses the custom body form. Is one way better or more modern or updated? Does it make a difference in the type of machine they use for radiation?

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surftohealth88 | @surftohealth88 | Oct 23 11:35pm
In reply to @chippydoo "@surftohealth88 Frankly I didn't realize they use Fiducial markers if you don't have a prostate. They..." + (show)
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@surftohealth88 Frankly I didn't realize they use Fiducial markers if you don't have a prostate. They can do an overlay without pins. Most people freak and scan at .2 and often come up zero lights so they carpet bomb the area which is what I did. I would say live your best life one day at a time as if he is cancer free and then take action if he pops a number . The side effects of radiation can be terrible and stay with you the rest of your life. I still have them 8 months after radiation. Somewhat diminished but can still be problematic. Much worse than the RP. Don't miss the gifts of today by worrying about tomorrow which isn't promised. Best wishes, Chip

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@chippydoo

Thanks so much for your reply and giving me your insight 💖😎. I really appreciate it. Yes, perhaps it is time for me to relax somewhat and just go with the flow. One really can not predict anything with certainty about PC's future whims, at least THAT part IS certain lol 😋.

I am so sorry to hear that you still have some side-effects from radiation 😞 and yes, we were aware that radiation is not benign thing (I avoid even simple X-rays whenever I can) and that is why we chose RP instead of RT among other reasons and why we are hesitant to do adjuvant. Luckily doctors advised us to wait, so we are feeling much better. Actually, my hubby was feeling great all along lol, he has zero "worries" in general but I, as his "Yin", worry alllll the time ☯️😋 ! We are opposites in general but in absolutely complementary way 🥰

Wishing you all the best 🍀😊

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chippydoo | @chippydoo | Oct 24 7:22am
In reply to @villageidiot "I thought the fiducial markers were necessary due to potential small shifts of the prostate within..." + (show)
Profile picture for villageidiot @villageidiot

I thought the fiducial markers were necessary due to potential small shifts of the prostate within the body.

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@villageidiot They use LED's across the TAT's to line us up . The machine does a scan prior to each session and they make the final adjustment with the table angle from those results.

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vircet | @vircet | Oct 24 9:12am
In reply to @beachguy "No fiducial markers here, just three permanent dot tattoos that were used each of my 5..." + (show)
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No fiducial markers here, just three permanent dot tattoos that were used each of my 5 sbrt sessions for the initial alignment on the gantry table, then the MRIdian linac took over each time.

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@beachguy As I understand, fiducial markers aren't required for MRI-Guided radiotherapy. In the cancer center where I was treated last April, there's only one MRI-Guided Linac machine, my radiation oncologist told me it's used for patients who couldn't (unable to) have fiducial markers. I was treated with one of their many non-MRI guided Linacs because I had fiducials.
(I was told that I had MRI-Guided radio planning, with a mini-CT scan (to compare with the planning images and make adjustments to compensate for the gland's position shift) before each treatment. It seems to me that the procedure worked; I haven't experienced post-SBRT toxicity the past 6 months, hoping for no long-term side effects.)
Just my experience which I can't and won't say if typical.

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