Paul Hanna planned to take a year off between college graduation and medical school, but he didn’t figure chemotherapy and radiation into the equation.

Now, as he nears the end of treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, he’d like to use his experience to help others navigate the world of cancer.

Hanna, 23, grew up in Baker City through eighth grade, when he moved to Tri-Cities with his parents, Don and Janet Hanna.

(His parents later returned to their ranch near Baker City, where they live now.)

Hanna studied chemistry at the University of Idaho, and started feeling a bit off in April 2016 — the last few months of his senior year.

“I realized I was sleeping a lot more,” he said.

Tests showed a high white blood cell count and anemia, but a colonoscopy came back clear.

He graduated with a degree in chemistry May 2016.

In August he noticed painless bumps at the base of his neck.

A biopsy came back with the diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.

He immediately hit the internet.

“It’s been pretty well studied,” he said. “As soon as I got the diagnosis, I started reading a lot about it. I found solace in knowing more about my cancer.”

(He focused on the National Institutes of Health website for information.)

His chemotherapy treatments started in September, with infusions every other week.

“It was the worst I’ve ever felt,” he said. “It’d last about five days — I just didn’t want to move, you feel a zero out of 10. And most things tasted bad. Even water.”

And just as he was feeling better, it was time for another treatment.

At first, he had treatments at Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) in Fruitland, then stayed with his parents in Baker City for a few days, and then returned to his home in Moscow, Idaho.

But his health declined as chemo went on, and soon he moved back in with his parents full time.

His last treatment was Feb. 22 — a date he will remember for a long time.

“That’s going to be like Christmas,” he said.

After six months of chemotherapy, a PET scan showed the medications had worked. Those results came in late March, then he started radiation treatments five days a week for three weeks. Today was his last treatment.

“In my case, it’s just to make sure,” he said.

Side effects aren’t nearly as bad as with chemotherapy — he lifts his chin to show a rosy glow to the skin on his neck, and said swallowing is a bit uncomfortable.

His energy hasn’t fully returned, though.

“People say it can take a year to fully recover from chemo,” he said.

See more in the May 15, 2017, issue of the Baker City Herald.