Graduation

After Dad's last radiation treatment today, he sat down with me for an interview:

How do you feel on your last day of radiation treatments?

Well, all the experience was okay. It didn't make me sick. I am just hoping this will cancel the cancer. I will do anything to get rid of it. The reason they did radiation every day was to kill those cells. They killed good cells too, but the good ones re-generated over night and the bad ones did not.

What was it like getting the treatments?

I'd come in every day and the whole thing was already programmed into a big machine. There were three different angles that they radiated from. They weren't going directly into the brain, but they were sideswiping. The treatments only took about 2 minutes, so it was quick. It never hurt. I had no side effects, except that my skin did get a little burnt. I just put salve on it.

How do you feel about the UW Hospital care?

This hospital is awesome. This is the best place in the world that I could have come to. Dr. Robbins, Dr. Mehta and Dr. Sillay took excellent care of me. They are so concerned about helping people. Everyone you deal with there is top of the line. If you had brain cancer, you would want to be at UW.

What did they do on your last day?

Every day I had my head locked in to a mask on the treatment table so they could radiate exactly where they wanted to. On the last day, they asked me if I wanted the mask, and I said, "Yes!" Then they gave me a certificate for graduating from radiation. I gave the nurses a note and a box of chocolates because they were just really nice. They made sure I was comfortable and always worried about me. If I had anything wrong, they would make sure I went to the right doctor. They always made sure everything was okay.

How are you doing mentally and physically?

Mentally I feel okay. Some of my words are still not coming out right. Physically, I'm getting much stronger. I have exercises to do. I have been walking up and down steps and getting better at doing that. I try to walk outside twice a day with Linda. The only bad thing is that I gained 10 pounds. They said my appetite would deteriorate, but it's just the opposite with me. I could eat a desk.

Where do you go from now, what's next?

Actually my chemo stops at the end of July. I'm going up north with Linda and Lisa to Door County then Linda and I will go across Lake Michigan to Detroit to see our friends Gary and Debbie and go on their boat. Then I will go home to Ohio. I will come back once a month to Madison between 1 and 2 years for check-ups and take chemo once a month for 5 days.

Looking back, what have you learned from this experience?

I've learned a lot about how cancer affects the brain, what kind of cancer I have and how to kill it. The neat thing was that my family -- Heather, Lisa and Linda and their families -- we were all together. I couldn't have had a better experience with such a terrible disease. My family has taken such great care of me. I don't know if I could ever re-pay them. (Editor's note: He doesn't have to.)

What do you want to say to your friends and family who've supported you?

Lisa set up this blog to tell people what's happening with me. All of these people sent cards, hundreds of cards, encouraging me. I didn't know I had so many friends! I really appreciate all of the encouragement that I've had, all the encouragement and prayers. I tried to call and thank people. I just really appreciate everyone caring so much about me. It kept me positive. I never had any kind of depression because of all my friends.

When I was in the hospital, my family would come and see me. It was really encouraging. Scott came in the mornings. Then Scott did a marathon and put my name on his shirt. I was so proud of him.

And Linda ... if it wasn't for Linda, I'd be in the cemetery. Linda is such an awesome lady. She went through this once (with her first husband Phil) and now she's going through this with me. She doesn't deserve it. But she's my best friend.

I really appreciate everyone concerned about me. So when I get back to Oberlin, I would like to see my family and friends and maybe set up something to celebrate our marriage. Originally we were supposed to be married on July 11 in Put-in-Bay with a reception July 17 at Valley Harbor Marina.

As you move on, will you approach life differently?

Yes. Little stuff I used to worry about ... it isn't worth it anymore. Just enjoying life is the most important thing right now. Things like painting my house, putting a roof on -- I am going to hire people to do that because it's too much time for me to spend doing things like that. Linda and I got married. We are going to do things that we enjoy, go different places, see my daughters and granddaughters and try not to worry about all the maintenance around the house.

I just also want to tell everyone, whatever health crisis you face, there is always an answer. Never give up. You will succeed.