March 28, 2024
Last day of radiation. David had his final treatment, and we also got to see the doctor for discharge from treatment. Dr. Wa was not in so we saw Dr. G. He said there was a 4 week follow up appointment just to come back and check in to be sure things are going ok. He said if we needed them sooner to not hesitate to call. David left thank you cards for the techs in the back and the nurses and receptionist up front. They presented David with his radiation graduation certificate, and he was allowed to ring the bell marking the end of a difficult milestone. I read a very fitting Big Panda and Tiny Dragon thought for today while I was waiting for him during treatment. It has become clear that David is definitely my Big Panda.
Fun Fact: The bell ringing tradition started in 1996 at MD Anderson. A rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, Irve Le Moyne, was undergoing radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, and he told his doctor that he planned to follow a Navy tradition of ringing a bell to signify “when the job was done.” He brought a brass bell to his last treatment, rang it several times, and left it as a donation. Later, it was mounted on a wall plaque with the inscription:
Ring this bell
Three times well
Its toll to clearly say,
My treatments done
This course is run
And I am on my way! – Irve Le Moyne
Following Le Moyne, bells started popping up in treatment centers across the U.S., and the tradition of ringing a bell three times after a patient completes their rounds of radiation and/or chemotherapy was born.
