I’m a cancer survivor going on fifteen years. After dozens of radiation treatments and chemotherapy, my doctor told me I was cured. What he didn’t say, or didn’t emphasize, was the fact that radiation is with you for life and will continue to wreak havoc on your body in ways you couldn’t imagine. A hundred years from now, doctors will shake their heads and wonder aloud why we would put such a toxic material in our bodies willingly.
So here I sit, fifteen years later, still suffering from the side effects of the treatment and on my way into surgery again to try to save a portion of my body that couldn’t withstand the onslaught of radiation’s mighty sword. And like millions of other cancer patients, I will survive. All I ask is that if you are ever in a situation where a doctor suggests a vigorous dose of this toxic therapy, get a second opinion, maybe even a third and think real hard about the consequences. They are real and with you forever, just like that embarrassing post on Facebook.
Thomas Lopinski - Author 