[justrudd]

This year, during a routine physical, my general practitioner felt some “lumps” in my throat. He wasn’t worried but wanted me to get a second opinion on them. two rounds of chemo and two five week five day a week rounds of radiation later, I no longer have the tumors in my throat.

I was lucky. They got detected early and hadn’t metastasized.

But holy hell was radiation treatment terrible. When I had my first round of chemo to ready me for my first round of radiation, it was easy to “ignore” the chemo. I can’t find the comment now, but they basically state “You get up, you go in, you get sick, you go home, rinse and repeat”. It sucked, but I could muscle through it. The radiation treatments? Damn. By the time the burning sensation in my neck and face got to a point I could ignore it, it was time to go in for another session. By the 3rd session of the 3rd week, my oncologist prescribed me sleeping and high dosage pain pills. My pharmacist didn’t want to refill my pain meds the 3rd time. Thought I had a pill doc that was letting me abuse them.

But all through the pain and the uncertainty, the thing that affected me the most was - I really learned who, in my social circle, I could count on. Made me realize that most of my social circle is acquaintances not friends. Not loved ones.

So cancer really opened my eyes to human connection. Now I just gotta figure out how to do it :)

[gregfjohnson]

These days my job is writing treatment planning software for radiation treatment. Your post makes it more real from the patient’s perspective. The hope and goal is to move the probability needle of range of outcomes in a good direction. I hope your cancer treatment works out well for you.

[rag_ksh]

>But all through the pain and the uncertainty, the thing that affected me the most was - I really learned who, in my social circle, I could count on. Made me realize that most of my social circle is acquaintances not friends. Not loved ones.

The First time you experience this is extremely painful and disorienting. Only advantage being you come out way stronger on the other side.

I hope things are better for you now and hope and pray nothing but the best comes your way hereafter. Have a good one brother.

[donjigweed]

five week, five days a week radiation? was this "proton" radiation treatment?

[justrudd]

No. The first treatment was electron since the tumors were in my throat and close to the surface. But my oncologist didn’t like the progress. So my second treatment was just standard photon. Both done with conformal.