The Bell, The Break, & The Beginning of the End

The Bell, The Break, & The Beginning of the End

🌼 Date: Thursday, April 30, 2026

⚡ Energy: Emotional, relieved, and a little crispy

💖 Status: Radiation complete — finally!

😍 Outlook: Healing ahead… even if it gets worse before it gets better

Today was my last day of radiation.

It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this every single weekday for more than three weeks.
Early mornings. Daily drives. The Breathing Olympics. The Lotion Police. The Frozen Vegetable Parade. The Greased Pig Phase.

And just like that… it’s done.

I am so incredibly thankful to be finished.

What I’m not looking forward to is what comes next.

Because here’s the fun little detail they don’t always emphasize — radiation doesn’t just stop when the treatments stop.

The effects are cumulative, meaning the damage builds with each session and continues for weeks after the final treatment.

So even though I’m done going in every day, my skin is not done reacting.

The burning will likely get worse.
The itching will likely get worse.
My already angry, crispy skin may decide it has a few more tricks up its sleeve.

This reaction — called radiation dermatitis — happens because while radiation is busy targeting cancer cells, it’s also taking out healthy skin cells along the way. And since treatments happen daily, there isn’t enough time for those cells to repair themselves in between.

So the damage builds… and builds… and builds.

Kind of like interest on a really terrible credit card you never signed up for.

But today wasn’t about that.

Today was about finishing.

After my treatment, I had my scheduled skin check — where the nurse added to my ever-growing modeling portfolio (seriously, at this point I should at least get copies).

Then, when I went to change back into my clothes, something unexpected happened.

Casey got called back from the waiting room.

When I walked out, the nurses were all gathered around holding a certificate that had been signed by everyone — including the team that sets me up every single day.

And then it was time.

I got to ring the bell.

The second bell of this crazy journey.

And, in true Tina fashion… I broke it.

First ding.

Done.

Bell broken.

Apparently I don’t do anything halfway — not even ringing a ceremonial bell.

So, I fixed it (because of course I did), and then I rang it again — loud and proud.

And then they sang me a goodbye song.

And I cried.

Because it wasn’t just about finishing radiation.

It was everything.

The surgeries.
The chemo.
The appointments.
The fear.
The exhaustion.
The fight.

All of it wrapped up in one moment… standing there, ringing that bell.

And just when I thought I was walking out done forever, they gently reminded me:

“I’ll see you next week for your follow-up.”

Of course.

Because cancer doesn’t exactly do clean endings.

But you know what?

I’ll take it.

One day a week sounds a whole lot better than five.

I will take that win all day long.

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💗 Tina –
One Badass Day at a Time