Author Archives: smallon

It is Thursday, July 9th. Please accept my apologies for the long delay in updating this blog. After a three-month healing period following my radiation and chemo treatments, I went back to Georgetown University Hospital yesterday for a follow-up PET …

It is Sunday, April 19th. My last radiation therapy treatment was a week ago Friday (4/9), and I’ve been in healing mode since. The discomfort in my throat reached a high point in the final days of radiation, and persisted …

It is Sunday, April 5th. It has been two weeks since my last post. I found out between then and now that I will have 42 radiation treatments, not 40. I’ve had 37 so far, and will have my last …

It is Sunday, March 22, 2015. 27 radiation sessions (out of 40) completed, and 5 (out of 6) chemo sessions completed. Progress! Starting with the 26th radiation session this past Thursday, the scope of the beam has been reduced to …

It is March 11, 2015, and today I completed my 20th radiation session (out of 40) and my 4th weekly chemo session (out of 6). So I’m essentially halfway through the treatments. Here’s a picture of me getting some work …

It has been 11 days since my last post. Apologies for the long break. I’m hanging in there. High-level metrics: 12 radiation sessions completed (out of 40; 30% complete) 2 chemo sessions completed (out of 6; 33% complete) As you …

It is 10 pm, 9 and a half hours since my first chemo treatment ended, and I feel pretty good.  It was a 5 hour process. Starting at 7:30 am, Nurse Sue (an advocate of socialized medicine – I happen …

Monday’s PET scan allowed the doctors to determine that the cancer has not spread beyond my neck and throat. What a relief. So we have been able to proceed with the planned course of treatment: radiation therapy targeted on my …

It has been a busy few days as I have been getting things pulled together. My first radiation session is scheduled for this Thursday 2/12, and I will have sessions 5 days a week for 8 weeks. So if all …

Over the last few days, I have been diagnosed with an increasingly-common form of neck cancer, a type of squamous cell carcinoma that was likely triggered by exposure to HPV at some point in my life. There are still many …