How a young boy on chemo marked the days until the end of his treatments.
BY Ryan Hamner
PUBLISHED May 07, 2018
Ryan Hamner is a four-time survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma, a musician and a writer. In 2011, he wrote and recorded, "Where Hope Lives" for the American Cancer Society and the song for survivors, "Survivors Survive" used in 2015 for #WorldCancerDay. Currently, he operates his website for those affected by cancer, 2surviveonline.com and drinks a ridiculous amount of coffee per day.
We were sitting at the picnic table just outside the chemo clinic. My mom and I had driven two hours, again. It was the final countdown until I was called back to start my chemo treatment. This part was never fun. Heck, none of it was ever fun. But, the final wait always caused the most anxiety for us.
On this one day in particular, we were sitting at the picnic table, eating some cheese crackers and waiting. It was very sunny outside and must have been almost eighty degrees.
I always had weird ways of marking time when I'd finish a surgery or a chemo treatment.
Usually it went something like this, "The next time I see my dog, Muffet, I'll be done with chemo this week," or "The next time I play baseball at home, I'll be done with chemo." These were just odd mental games I played, for whatever reason. On that day though, I didn't want to simply mark the end of one single chemo treatment, I wanted something to mark the end of all of my chemo treatments.
On this one day in particular, we were sitting at the picnic table, eating some cheese crackers and waiting. It was very sunny outside and must have been almost eighty degrees.
I always had weird ways of marking time when I'd finish a surgery or a chemo treatment.
Usually it went something like this, "The next time I see my dog, Muffet, I'll be done with chemo this week," or "The next time I play baseball at home, I'll be done with chemo." These were just odd mental games I played, for whatever reason. On that day though, I didn't want to simply mark the end of one single chemo treatment, I wanted something to mark the end of all of my chemo treatments.
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