Spring Break
URI barber diagnosed with Lymphoma
Lindsay Lorenz
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: News
09/04/08 - Each fall University of Rhode Island students return to campus, greeted by the familiar faces of previous semesters. This semester, one of the Memorial Union's most familiar faces will be absent.
Ed Ciccone, who has worked at the Total Image Salon more than nine years, was diagnosed with stage III Hodgkin's Lymphoma in May. Notorious for his "fast and precise" haircuts, Ciccone will not be able to work as he undergoes chemotherapy treatments.
Ciccone has been undergoing the treatment for three months now. He takes chemo pills for most of the month, then goes in for an intravenous treatment toward the end. The medication's side effects, he said, are probably the worst.
"My body is a total mess." Ciccone said. "Scrambled, that's probably the best way to describe it. I feel like I'm deteriorating."
With each cycle, he said, vomiting, fatigue and weight loss intensify. After he completes six to seven months of chemotherapy, his doctors will start radiation treatments.
Despite the harsh side effects of chemotherapy, Ciccone said he now looks at his diagnosis as "a blessing in disguise."
Just months earlier, the 36-year-old was working full time at Total Image, then driving to his own salon in Cranston where he would log several more hours each day. Ciccone said he was giving about 40 haircuts each day, going full speed and working like crazy. He was not eating healthy, and not taking enough time to relax and see his family.
"My doctor said if I had been going at that rate I would have been dead in five years," Ciccone said.
That was an eye-opening revelation for Ciccone. Since being sick, he feels he has regained much of what he was overlooking and appreciates the time he gets to spend with his wife and two sons.
But that's not to say he doesn't miss working. For nearly a decade, Ciccone said he has poured his heart and soul into the Total Image Salon. He misses seeing his regular clients and keeping people looking sharp.
Ed Ciccone, who has worked at the Total Image Salon more than nine years, was diagnosed with stage III Hodgkin's Lymphoma in May. Notorious for his "fast and precise" haircuts, Ciccone will not be able to work as he undergoes chemotherapy treatments.
Ciccone has been undergoing the treatment for three months now. He takes chemo pills for most of the month, then goes in for an intravenous treatment toward the end. The medication's side effects, he said, are probably the worst.
"My body is a total mess." Ciccone said. "Scrambled, that's probably the best way to describe it. I feel like I'm deteriorating."
With each cycle, he said, vomiting, fatigue and weight loss intensify. After he completes six to seven months of chemotherapy, his doctors will start radiation treatments.
Despite the harsh side effects of chemotherapy, Ciccone said he now looks at his diagnosis as "a blessing in disguise."
Just months earlier, the 36-year-old was working full time at Total Image, then driving to his own salon in Cranston where he would log several more hours each day. Ciccone said he was giving about 40 haircuts each day, going full speed and working like crazy. He was not eating healthy, and not taking enough time to relax and see his family.
"My doctor said if I had been going at that rate I would have been dead in five years," Ciccone said.
That was an eye-opening revelation for Ciccone. Since being sick, he feels he has regained much of what he was overlooking and appreciates the time he gets to spend with his wife and two sons.
But that's not to say he doesn't miss working. For nearly a decade, Ciccone said he has poured his heart and soul into the Total Image Salon. He misses seeing his regular clients and keeping people looking sharp.
