I have some good news to report. The HH finally finished his 33 rounds of radiation treatments on his ear {the concha cavum}.
As you may recall earlier this year he went in for his 7th Mohs surgery and well, afterwards it didn’t go so well. You can read that story HERE if you missed it.
But hey, the radiation treatments are done. Wahoo!
This is what his ear looked like a few days after his Mohs surgery.
About a month later, after the inside of his ear had healed a bit, he met with the Doctor. After that, he was fitted for the radiation mask and a special ear piece.
Then he began the 33 rounds of radiation. The zaps themselves were relatively quick. It was the daily drive that was sort of a grind.
Luckily though, almost all of his appointments were scheduled for the same time each day so that helped.
This is what his ear looks like now. The hole from the Mohs surgery has healed nicely and the swelling is starting to go down.
The ear is still red and a little swollen {and so is the surrounding area} from being zapped, but knowing we don’t have to get up and drive to the radiation center every morning is pretty awesome.
We were told to keep the area SUPER hydrated to prevent the skin from drying out and cracking so we made sure we were on top of that the entire time.
The nurse suggested dye free aloe gel {applied 6-8 times a day} and slathering the ear and surrounding area with Eucerin lotion at bedtime. {We will continue to do this until the swelling is totally gone.}
So far so good. Other than the aloe, lotion, Tylenol for pain and afternoon naps here and there, the HH didn’t need to do anything else really. I think at the beginning a lot of it was mental, then after a while everything just became part of a routine.
Well done HH. You did it. I’m proud of you.
Now comes the hard part. Figuring out what to do with the radiation mask.
~Mavis
Erin says
Cheers to you two! Such good news!
Nancy Settel says
So happy that this is behind your husband now and I am sure he is also. Our son just had surgery on his thumb and hand for cancer surgery and boy does it look awful, almost 100 hundred stitches. I have had 3 different places just sprayed with the really cold stuff and I am a big baby about that so I can’t imagine 33 days of being zapped by radiation everyday. Well now with your creativiness (is that a word) I think you need to make that mask into a lamp for the Bird House. LOL. Have a great day and go treat your husband to some pastries for the day.
Lynne says
So glad to hear that the zaps are over, and I wish the HH a Mohs and zap free future!
Tracey says
HEAR! HEAR!
Wendy C says
So glad he is done.
Nee Nee says
Wow the poor HH he went through a lot!! Happy to hear it’s over and he did very well must be a huge relief
Now that you are home every morning I think he deserves a few home cooked meals! Maybe you could be creative and turn radiation mask into a Halloween mask!!
Mallory L. says
Wonderful news!
As for the mask…. maybe turn it into a “chia pet”? Or a Halloween decoration?
Dawn says
Congratulations! I’m glad he’s doing well and I hope he continues healing well and no more zaps.
Maybe you could paper mache the mask and use it for Halloween?
Christie says
Kudos to you both! That is a lot to go through and very stressful so I am happy you are done!
Mark says
Congratulations to HH on finishing his treatment!!
Definitely keep using the aloe everyday. I’m sure they warned him that the “sunburn” type effect usually gets worse after treatment stops. My mom’s hit its peak about 2 weeks after her last treatment and took a little over a month to fully go away.
Ashley B says
Glad he, and you, made it through.
Peg says
My mom, who recently passed away at 95, went through two different rounds of radiation while she battled breast cancer twice. The skin in those areas always looked and felt different, even more than 18 and 27 years later. But I don’t think she applied anything after the surfaces finally healed. Best of luck to your husband. Hopefully he never has to do that again!
Julie says
Congratulations to HH. I hope that he never has to deal with this again. I’m glad you both are on the other side of this.
Brianna says
Yay! I am glad he is done and hope his follow-up appointments are uneventful.
I think it is word to collect medical devices, but there are museums and attractions devoted to them. I find it personally liberating to put them in the trash….crutches, braces, casts, slings….whatever. It kinda closes that chapter for me. With that being said, my hubby has kept his pacemakers and it has been fun to see how they have changed the past 20 years.
Christa H says
Congrats to HH. Enjoy relaxing while you continue to heal.
Linda says
Huge congratulations to both of you! That many rounds of radiation is no joke. My husband went through 35 rounds of radiation and 6 rounds of chemo over 7 weeks for throat cancer in 2017. He joked about using his mask for Halloween, but once you’re done you don’t really feel like putting it on again. Just curious, how did you even catch this cancer? I don’t know that I would have noticed in my ear. My husband had a fairly large lump on his neck.
Linda Boettcher says
Please have this lump on the neck evaluated by a physician ASAP. Cancer cells replicate so rapidly. Always better to check it out early. If it’s nothing, can breathe a sigh of relief and stop worrying. Worrying takes so much energy.
Linda says
Thank you! My husband had the lump checked out. That’s why he did 35 rounds of radiation and 6 rounds of chemo.
Julianne in MN says
Glad the treatments are complete, and HH is doing well.
The mask absolutely belongs alongside the leg lamp!
Nancy D says
Thank you for sharing the good news! So happy for you! I also think the leg lamp could use a “mask lamp” hanging nearby!
Tanya J. says
I am so happy for you both that he has completed his radiation and it went well! He should get an end of radiation celebration present for himself or a trip he has wanted to go on!
Linda Sand says
Oh! That mask needs to go into a halloween costume box!
In the meantime, so glad all is done and went well.
Nancy says
RE: the mask. Have you considered using it as the frame for a small topiary? That’s the way Disney creates those startling landscape features. Just plant a little evergreen plant with small leaves (such as a boxwood) in a pot, put the mask on top of it and clip away as it grows.
Joely says
Congratulations! Yay to the end of treatment!
Kathy Wolfe says
My first thought was a “frog” for a flower arrangement! I’m so glad it is finished.
Richelle says
Yes, line it with moss and use it as a planter.
Sue says
Congratulations to the HH for enduring surgery and treatment and getting the best possible outcome!
Kimberly Vassar says
I am so happy for you and your husband. I know how hard this all is. I had chemo last fall, 40 sessions. Then I had another 40 sessions chemo and radiation, ending June 11th. I will be having an MRI and cat scans within the next couple of weeks. My husband and I were diagnosed last September, 3 days apart. His is lung, mine is rectal. Both diagnosed as stage 4. His metastasized to his brain, but they were able to eradicate it with radiation. Now, his MRI showed another lesion on his liver. So, he will be having more tests to see if it is malignant.
One thing we really have as a side effect of chemo and radiation, and cancer, itself, is the fatigue. It is a fatigue like no other. You are right about going every day to the treatment center. My treatments were Monday through Friday. Our clinic was super busy, so the times varied.
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m glad to hear you finished this round and I hope you have a restful summer. It is draining, mentally and physically. I think we lucked out of the time slots. It was helpful, that’s for sure. Sending hugs from Maine to your and your husband. 🙂
Lynn from NC Outer Banks says
That’s great news and it sounds like you have a great plan going forward. Glad it is finished.
Cheryl says
I’m glad it went well. Radiation is draining.
Julie says
Yay for the HH!! And his loyal wifey/cheering club!! May it be the last episode of skin or any other cancer!
Sean says
Really good news 🙂
JulieP says
So glad you’ve got through this you two. Well done team 🙂
JulieP says
Thanks for sharing your news, I’ve been thinking about you both. So glad you’ve got through this. Well done team 🙂