What is the best way to manage severe claustrophobia and anxiety for Thermoplastic masks?

I’ve found that P.O. uptake of benzodiazepines is notoriously unreliable, and often the severity of patients’ anxiety isn’t apparent until after the process has begun. Because of this, I stock IM hydroxyzine (a.k.a. Atarax or Vistaril), which is a great non-narcotic old-school anxiolytic with a reli...

Ativan 2-3mg po 15-20 mins prior to SIM or tx

In these instances, I like to start by cutting away from the eye(s) and nose portions of the masks, while leaving the chin and forehead intact as much as possible. Of course it depends on the 'targeted' primary tumor site. I also add anti-anxiety medications too. When we have to, I will resort to th...

I can't say that I/we have ever tried 6-7 weeks of daily IM injections in any patient in over the 30 years I have practiced, especially in Head and Neck cases. Typically, we try to determine the time it will take to get the desire effect(s) (anxiolytic) during and after the simulation, and the first...