Sleepless nights of radiation therapy for people with "K"

At 10 p.m., the rented room of Mr. Trinh Van Luu (63 years old, Hung Yen), a patient with laryngeal cancer, even though the lights were turned off, continuously echoed with the sound of people turning over.

There was a radiotherapy session at 11pm, so shortly after dinner, Mr. Luu and his son cleaned up and went to bed, hoping to catch a few hours of sleep to regain their strength. However, when the time for the radiotherapy session was approaching, both father and son were still tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

"It's out of sync with my daily routine, the traffic is noisy, and I'm constantly worried about falling asleep and missing my radiotherapy session, so it's hard to catch a few hours of sleep," said Mr. Luu's son.

The temporary accommodation for Mr. Luu and his son during this time to receive treatment is a room less than 5 square meters wide, with only enough room for a bed and a small shelf.

Diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in September 2023, Mr. Liu underwent a laryngectomy and lymph node dissection before undergoing radiation therapy. The ravages of the disease were evident on the body of the man in his sixties.

The alarm clock rang at 10:15 p.m. As usual, father and son got dressed, grabbed their bags filled with necessary items, and started a night radiation therapy trip.

In the dark, from the deep alleys around the K Hospital, footsteps and voices were heard more and more. Like Mr. Luu, they were cancer patients and their families scheduled for radiation therapy at 11pm.

From the gate of K Hospital, patients who had radiation therapy at 10pm also started to leave. Helping her husband with nasopharyngeal cancer cross Cau Buu Street, Mrs. Hoa (name has been changed) almost tripped twice because it was dark and her eyesight had become blurry due to age.

Ms. Hoa’s husband began radiation therapy on October 16, once a day. The woman with two types of hair said she was lucky because the radiation was not too late at night.

"As far as I know, there is a radiation treatment session every hour or so. Every week or so, patients change their radiation schedule. Luckily, my husband has not had to undergo radiation treatment too late at night," Ms. Hoa shared.

Back in the rented room, Mrs. Hoa’s husband sat down on the bed, his face showing obvious fatigue. The 58-year-old man’s skin was dark due to the side effects of radiation therapy.

While her husband rested, Mrs. Hoa hurriedly mixed milk and took out medicine. This stage, which the woman called post-radiation recovery, usually lasted 30 minutes, before the couple could take a nap.

"After radiation therapy, I was very tired. My face was black and blistered. He had nasopharyngeal cancer and couldn't eat, so he could only drink milk to regain his strength," said Ms. Hoa.

At this time, the rows of waiting chairs in front of the radiation treatment rooms were gradually filled, some people took the opportunity to take a nap.

After waiting for about 30 minutes, it was Mr. Luu's turn to receive radiation therapy. "The waiting time was long, but when it came time to receive radiation therapy, it only took about 10 minutes," his son shared.

11:30 p.m., father and son supported each other back to the rented room. Looking at his father, tired and in pain after the radiation, the young man was worried again. "He is gradually wasting away because of his illness. These are just the first few shots, I heard that the more shots he gets, the more tired he gets. I hope he can hold on," he mused.

It was past midnight, but Mr. Liu still couldn't sleep because outside people kept coming and going to take turns getting radiation therapy.

Photo: Thanh Dong, Khanh Vi

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/dem-trang-xa-tri-cua-nhung-phan-nguoi-mang-k-20241031175346616.htm