Sunday night I was coughing up a little bit of clear phlegm, which is expected and ok. At one point I coughed up some phlegm and it felt different. It felt like something was in it. When I looked at it it was like a red blood clot or material. The radiation oncologist said it was dead cancer cells. Kind of gross yet - it's out of me!
Many people wonder what happens to the cancer when it dies. A tumor is made up of billions of cancer cells. Over several weeks of radiation therapy the cancer cells will gradually die off. Dead cancer cells are recycled by the body in the same way as the other billions of healthy cells that die every day in your body. They are broken down into their basic components of amino acids, fats, etc, and are used by other healthy cells.
A cancer cell is only dangerous if it is alive and capable of dividing to form other cancer cells. A dead cancer cell is just like any other dead cell in your body. It is not contagious, it has no way to turn other cells into cancer, it is not poisonous. It is just meat. It’s just a bunch of nutrients for for your body to reuse.
Chemo #5 (1 more to go) and radiation # 20 (5 more to go) went well. Last chemo/radiation treatment on Tuesday, June 19th! yayyy!
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 (NIV)
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