Cancer patient photographs his own radiation treatment, imaging scans
In a series of photographs published July 17 in the New York Times, entitled "Darkness at Noon: My Time in Radiation," a 63-year-old photojournalist illustrates his radiation treatment for a rare type of cancer with personal, raw images—all taken with his iPhone.
Last year, Mark Richards was diagnosed with salivary cancer that was spreading along his trigeminal nerve, which runs through the face and controls biting and chewing.
Richards' photos range from him being strapped in a CT scanner to self-portraits showing the emotional and physical toll of radiation therapy.
Multiple surgeries and losing some ability to taste and fully swallow, however, wasn't the worst part of the process, Richards told the New York Times, but instead was the 33 radiation sessions he underwent five days a week, "a hell I wasn’t ready for" as he described.
“It just took everything out of me,” Richards said. “Even now I have to lay in bed a lot. It’s an effect that takes every part of you and reduces you.”
Read the New York Times' entire article here:
A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.