Radiation Raver

December 1999 and most people world wide were looking forward to the Millennium rollover into the year 2000.

I was a normal, married with kids, middle aged standard South African guy with all my dreams for 2000 about to happen, when one doctor shattered everything with the statement, Did no one tell you that you have cancer.

The Radiation Raver is a name that was given to me by a very good friend, after I survived 42 days of extreme radiation treatment for Stage Four Head and Neck cancer.

Today I had the bottom row of teeth extracted and false teeth fitted.

The noise coming from the linear accelerator was similar to that of a frustrated bee stuck in a bottle. The problem was that I was inside the linear accelerator.

This machine that they put you in is quite something else.
Large and creepy. All alone in the middle of the room.
One way windows all around. No bright lights, just the glow from the machine.

The story that follows is a documented journey of survival, from diagnosis through the surgeries and complications,to the point where we are today, many years later.

This is my way of sharing my experience of cancer with the world.

Nobody ever ruined their eyes by looking on the bright side of things.

Enjoy.

Shaun K Kearney
A.K.A The Radiation Raver
September 2013