(Title image: Photo by rhoda alex on Unsplash)
When I finished my final radiation treatment for breast cancer in 2017, I got to bang a gong as part of my cancer center’s tradition.
The gong-ringing marked getting to a milestone, one that I only dreamed about when I was handed my treatment plan. It felt like closure…except that I wasn’t really “done”—I still had months of Herceptin to go and years of endocrine therapy ahead of me. But the toughest chemo and radiation were over.
And those around me who weren’t done yet also celebrated along, just as I had for the patients that had gone before me, eagerly awaiting their turn at the gong. This tradition also occurs at many other cancer centers, although instead of a gong, it might be a bell or a chime or something similar.
However, as with many things that have to do with cancer, there is a more somber side to the end-of-chemo bell. As noted in this article from Psychology Today (“The Psychology of the Cancer Bell”), hearing the ringing of the bell can be devastating for someone with metastatic cancer, who will never be done with treatment, or is at late stages of the disease.
(Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash)
The article also points out that in cases where someone experienced a cancer recurrence, hearing the bell rung by someone else elicited painful emotions. What should be a jubilant event for all can feel depressing and isolating, like being left behind.
But it goes beyond that. As a study by Williams et al. (2019, Int J Radiat Oncol) found, even those who are finishing their treatment might not have a positive response to ringing the bell. From the “Conclusion” section in the study’s abstract:
Not what I would have expected! And it certainly came as a surprise to the study’s authors.
These findings have been reflected in a reimagining of the completion bell. As the Psychology Today article mentions, some cancer centers are moving it’s location and renaming it the “Bell of Hope”, or providing different means of allowing patients to mark the stages of their treatment rather than focusing on “completion”.
Personally, I was looking forward to banging my gong and was more focused on what treats I could bring for the radiology staff and saying goodbye to all of them. But I can see why such a commemoration could be problematic, especially when so many parts of the cancer experience are stressful. You don’t need one more.
How about you? How do you feel about ringing a bell (or similar)? Is there something else that you did or would prefer?
REFERENCES
Leeby C, July 30, 2025, The Psychology of the Cancer Bell. Psychology Today Blog, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/consciously-creating-your-soul-life/202507/the-psychology-of-the-cancer-bell
Williams PA et al. (2019) The Cancer Bell: Too Much of a Good Thing? Int J Radiat Oncol, 105, 247-253. https://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(19)30838-7/abstract
For information on what Penn Medicine has done to reimagine the bell-ringing tradition:
Greer M, December 23, 2022, Redefining the Bell Makes the Ritual Inclusive for All Patients With Cancer. ONS Voice, https://www.ons.org/publications-research/voice/news-views/12-2022/redefining-bell-makes-ritual-inclusive-all-patients
Frantic Shanti 