My Cancer Adventures: Goodbye Chemo, Hello Radiation

Yes, you read that right. I’m officially done with chemo. My PET scan came back negative for any active lymphoma cells. So for those keeping track, I was able to get away with (yeah, I’ll put it that way) 4 rounds (or 8 treatments) of chemo instead of the 6 rounds (12 treatments) that were initially planned. I didn’t ask, but it seems like my lymphoma died off better than expected.

Now I move on to radiation to be extra sure the cancer cells are wiped clean. According to my chemo doctor and my new radiation doctor, ABVD chemo followed by radiation is a tried and tested method for treating the classic form of Hodgkin’s. I’ll have four weeks of radiation, going in to be “zapped” every weekday morning. Yesterday I had my radiation consultation where I was also fitted for my mask. (Watch the video below from my mask manufacturer and this will make more sense.) This mask keeps me in the same position for every single treatment so the radiation always hits the intended spot every time (and not something else). They warned me that getting the mask made would feel really weird and it did. I thought it would feel more like plastic being stretched across my face but it felt more like a mesh of extra stretchy spaghetti and not so much like plastic. It was weird. It’s also pressed right down on your face, so luckily I’m not claustrophobic.

For those wondering, radiation treatment is pretty harmless. I’m not radioactive or glowing afterward. Other parts of my body aren’t really affected either. The treatment is basically a just a beam that’s slightly more powerful than an x-ray that’s also pinpointed to a specific spot (for me, this is my neck/shoulder area). I really just have a few possible side effects. Because of the proximity of my problem area to my throat, I could have some irritation to my esophagus - basically a dry throat and trouble swallowing. At the spot of treatment, I’ll also have some skin irritation. I’ll just need to apply lotion and keep it out of the sun. Lastly I may have some fatigue, especially toward the end of treatment. This shouldn’t be as bad as the fatigue from chemo however.

Lastly if your mind has gone to me replicating the Spiderman origin story, you’re not alone. I thought of that basically immediately. Besides the logistics of training a spider to perfectly sit on my neck, the radiation isn’t strong enough to do anything that super. Well, I mean it does of course treat cancer - which is pretty damn super if you ask me.