Week 4 & 5 of Radiation Treatment - August 18-28
My skin in the treatment area got very red during week four. I was very tired. I started to lose some hair in the treated area. By the end of the week, my underarms were slightly burned and sore - strange place for a sunburn!

My last week of treatment (week 5) was great. It's kind of like the last week of school. I had a lot of loose ends to tie up. It was tiring. But, I was so excited to be finishing up. My side effects peaked. The skin on my upper chest and back was getting rough and tight. My underarms were sore from the burn. My throat was sore and dry and getting hoarse. I sneezed and it felt like something ripped in the back of my throat. My hair continued to fall out and decorate my shoulders (ick!). So, I pulled it out! I pulled clumps of the loose hair from the back of my head until my hairline was about an inch higher than it should be. It was going to fall out anyway. It didn't look that bad. I figured letting it shed onto my shoulders looked worse.

We met with my lymphoma doc, Dr. P. (He's the first doc we saw when we got to Mayo.) He's kind of a skeptical guy. He asked how I was doing and if I had had any night sweats or if my skin was itchy. Same questions he asked during our first meeting two months ago. I think he thought I was too positive. He wasn't sure if he should believe what I said. He examined me to see if he could find any lumps that shouldn't be there. Eventually, he stated with a smile that he was "satisfied." I was good to go. He said that I would need to come back for check ups every three months for a year, twice during the second year, and once a year for the rest of my life. Sounds good to me. I want to stay on top of it and know if it's back or not.

During breakfast on the morning of my last treatment, the news reported that a past NBC executive, Brandon Tartikoff, had died. He had had Hodgkin's in his twenties. Apparently, he was in the process of fighting HD again when he died. I think he was in his late forties. The newspaper article I read said that he had written his memoirs. I tried to order a copy at a book store but they could not locate it. If anyone knows more about this, please let me know. He sounds like a wonderful and inspiring person. I want learn from his experiences. The news of Tartikoff's death saddened and humbled me greatly. I knew then that even though I plan to move on with a very full life, I'll always have Hodgkin's in the back of my mind somewhere. It's not a cloud. It's a reminder to look around an APPRECIATE everything - especially our health, family, and friends!

Tartikoff's death contributed to making my last day of treatment an emotional one. For the past three months my mission was to find out what was wrong with me, get it fixed, and deal with the side effects. Finishing treatment was going to be great - but, also a let down believe it or not. What would I do now? Since the day (June 2) I went to find out what the lump near my collar bone was until that last day of treatment (August 28), a lot had happened: I had two surgeries, a bunch of nasty tests and exams, five weeks of radiation treatment, we moved in with Mom and Dad, put most of our stuff in storage, sold our house, I was about to quit my job, Mike was waiting to hear when his new job would start, we still didn't know what city his new employer would base him from. Who was I anyway? So, much had changed in such a short time I was headed for an identity crisis. But at least I didn't have Hodgkin's anymore. An identity crisis was small peanuts - I could handle it.

Anyway, on my last day of treatment, Jessica, one of my radiation therapists, came up to Mike and I in the waiting room. She was not dressed in her normal white lab coat, blue scrubs, and tennis shoes. She was in shorts. She said it was her day off but that she wanted to come in, say good bye, and wish me luck. She brought me a cookie bouquet. I was surprised and touched. She went out of her way on her day off to be so kind and generous to me. It's her and people like her that have made the past few months a blessing. I have been on the receiving end of so much love, kindness, and generosity that I will carry it with me and give it to others for the rest of my life. They say there is some good in every bad situation. THAT is the good I have found in having had cancer.

Write to Kim! MONDO7@aol.com

©1997 Diana L.E.G. Hinnrichs