This week we reached a major milestone. My husband Pete, who has been undergoing chemotherapy since mid-December, got to ring the bell.
“Ringing the bell” has been a tradition at cancer centers around the country since the 1990s. Cancer patients often ring a ceremonial bell to celebrate the end of their radiation treatments or chemotherapy.
On our way to the Simmons Cancer Institute on Tuesday morning, we took our usual route. Each time Pete got an infusion — eight in all, each with increasingly difficult side effects — we made a point of driving by the house on MacArthur Boulevard with this sign in their yard.

Pete posed for a photo outside the cancer center where he’s been meeting with his oncologist and getting treatment since October. He will still need to undergo some pretty serious surgery in another month or so (continued prayers appreciated!), but for now, we are celebrating his arrival at the finish line for the chemotherapy portion of his treatment.

These days it seems nearly every cancer facility has a bell that patients can ring to mark the end of treatment. But it’s thought that the tradition began at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas in 1996, when a cancer patient named Irve LeMoyne brought a brass bell to his last treatment, rang it several times and left the bell as a donation.

The bell at Simmons, where Pete got his chemotherapy treatments, is mounted on a wall plaque inside the infusion center.

If one must go through chemotherapy, the infusion center staff goes out of its way to make the experience as bearable as possible. These folks were absolutely the best!

After completing his final infusion session, Pete was awarded a commemorative t-shirt to mark his “graduation” from chemo.

And here he is, ringing the bell. The sheer happiness on his face literally brought tears to my eyes — and such joy!

After the ceremonial ringing of the bell, Pete gave us all an enthusiastic thumbs up.

I have been so impressed and humbled by my dear husband’s persistence in the face of ghastly side effects — nausea, breathlessness, numbing fatigue. I’d say he richly deserved the hearty round of applause he got from the staff.

CONGRATULATIONS to my sweetheart! And thanks be to God for getting us this far.
What a sweet looking man!: I can see Jesus in his bright shining face. 🙏 Total recovery and a joy so great that it will astound him and you, too.
Blessings, strength and love be yours as well as his as you go through and pass this test of faith. ❤️ Michele
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Thanks for your prayers! And yes, he is a truly sweet man.
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That’s wonderful news! Congratulations!!
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Thank you!
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Hallelujah.
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Yes!
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Such great news! Continued prayers.
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Thanks for the prayers.
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Congratulations, and I just prayed for continued health!
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Thank you!
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Congratulations to Pete and you both!! What a wonderful cheerleader he has in you!! Praying now that his surgery goes smoothly and recovery time is quick!!
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Thanks for the continued prayers!
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This brings tears to my eyes, as well. What beautiful photos!! Hallelujah!
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We’re definitely celebrating!
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Such great news. And I love how it becomes a well-deserved ceremony. He looks so happy. Wonderful!
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We were sure happy to reach this milestone!
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The right attitude is as vital as the treatments and your husband seems to have it in spades. I’m so happy that things are going well for him and pray they continue to do so. Family support is also a vital part of that so it looks like he may have a winning hand.
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Thanks for your prayers!
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Oh, wow. Pete’s brave shouldering of his illness with dignity is heartwarming. Thank the Good Lord he has such a loving, supportive wife! You both remain in my prayers.
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Thanks for your continued prayers!
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How wonderful! Congratulations!
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Thank you!
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That’s wonderful! Prayers for continued good health 🙏💙
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Thanks for the prayers.
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Congratulations and God bless! 🌹🌈🌞💗🙏
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Thank you!
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You’re both welcome and what a beautiful Godsend report to share with us out here; this is so very uplifting and important for us to recognize how God is with us and we should always count our blessings! Prayer is so powerful and regardless of an outcome we are so blessed to be here and have our Savior Jesus Christ saving us by and through our faith in Him!
Amen.
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The thumbs up photo brought a lump to my throat. You both worked together to turn that experience into art. 👌
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Yes it is art, isn’t it.
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Yes it is, in the highest sense of that word.
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Congratulations to both of you! Sending prayers for continued and speedy recovery.
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Thanks for the prayers.
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Wishing Pete a long & healthy path forward! Congratulations on his surmounting this major hurdle! 👍👍
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Thank you!
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Marvelous!! I’m rejoicing with you while continuing to pray.
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Thanks for the prayers!
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Oh how wonderful the sound of the bell. Both my wife and daughter in law have battled through ovarian cancer and chemo. Though they are the ones who passed through the dark valley, their struggles have touched all of us in the family. What good news about your Pete and God bless him as he goes through surgery.
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And continued prayers for your wife and daughter in law!
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