Tag: radiation oncology
ASTROnomical Blessings
September 11, 2017 was my first day of radiation treatment for my surprise cancer diagnosis I had received just two months before during a regular left parotidectomy for a pleomorphic adenoma. The days to follow were the hardest days I’ve ever faced in my… Continue Reading “ASTROnomical Blessings”
7 OTC Items That Help During Head and Neck Radiation Therapy
Along the way, through my 30 radiation treatments, I gathered a few tips and tricks that helped to ease or lessen some of the side effects and symptoms that come with head and neck cancer treatments. This list includes my top 7 items that… Continue Reading “7 OTC Items That Help During Head and Neck Radiation Therapy”
Cancer is Confusing
There are things about cancer that only cancer patients comprehend and fully understand. And because of that, there are things about cancer that us surviviors wish you knew. Cancer is something I felt to the aboslute depths of my bones and it has recently… Continue Reading “Cancer is Confusing”
Radiation Treatment: Who’s on your care team?
It’s not surprising that a lot goes on behind the scenes of radiation therapy, and it’s definitely not surprising to you that there are many different people that have a hand in your care. With all the people that you see during your visits,… Continue Reading “Radiation Treatment: Who’s on your care team?”
The Cancer Never Leaves
I read an article yesterday on surviving suvivorship, and it struck a chord in me…several actually. The title grabbed me because of the notion that survivorship might not be the walk in the park that it seems to have the reputation for. The article… Continue Reading “The Cancer Never Leaves”
Preparing for Radiation Treatment
Starting radiation therapy is certainly intimidating. There are a lot of unknowns, a lot of fears, and a lot of what ifs that come up, but with the a healthy understanding about what to expect, many of those fears can be eased and your… Continue Reading “Preparing for Radiation Treatment”
Halfway to (more) Freedom
Today marks 6 whole months since my final radiation treatment, and I woke up feeling all kinds of things. I always imagined that each and every milestone would bring indescribable joy and thankfulness for my healing and for life and just for the crazy… Continue Reading “Halfway to (more) Freedom”
Post-Radiation Life is…
Fill in the blank and that probably describes what it’s like on this side of things. It’s scary, it’s different, it’s confusing, it’s an adjustment, it’s a new normal, it’s freeing, and it’s a daily effort to keep my mind and heart focused on… Continue Reading “Post-Radiation Life is…”
Time to Celebrate
Happy 6 months to meeeee! It’s been 6 months since I went in for surgery to remove a benign salivary gland tumor and received path results just 6 days later that it was cancer they took out. Since then I’ve endured surgery recovery, 4… Continue Reading “Time to Celebrate”
5 Radiation Misconceptions
1) Radiation skin damage is just a sunburn While radiation skin toxicity looks like a sunburn and can often feel like a sunburn, the skin itself is not actually burned as if from a heat source. Radiation treatment is used to destroy the bad… Continue Reading “5 Radiation Misconceptions”
Gone, Glanda, Gone 