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SUMMER 2011
Welcome to the first issue of the ProCure Proton Therapy Centers newsletter. Wed like to keep you up-to-date on center news and share some of our patient stories. We hope to publish the newsletter quarterly and encourage you to submit ideas, your stories and photos and feedback. Please send any ideas or suggestions to Marcia Shields at marcia.shields@okc.procure.com.
Brotherhood of the Balloon, known as BOB or Proton Bob, is an organization founded by Bob Marckini, a prostate patient treated with proton therapy at Loma Linda 11 years ago. Bob created the organization as a way to keep the fellowship going with the good friends he made during treatment. Today, the BOB organization has grown to more than 5,300 members from all over the world who have been treated with proton therapy. Approximately 500 patients per year at Loma Linda have been referred by BOB members. The voice of proton therapy treatment for prostate cancer, BOB supports its members with the latest news and research on proton therapy, cancer recurrence prevention, insurance coverage, diet and lifestyle tips, member reunions, member stories and feedback after five, 10, 20 years following treatment, participation in surveys and access to results and much more. Get connected to this important organization and share your own stories and statistics. According to the American Cancer Society, Research has shown that being part of a support group following cancer treatment improves quality of life, and enhances patient survival. Please visit www.protonbob.com.
Many of our patients are eager to help spread the word about proton therapy, and how it has had such a positive effect on their health and quality of life. Some patients elect to speak on their own at church and civic functions, and many ask us to participate with them for the presentations. If you would like to speak and/or have a ProCure representative speak with you, please contact Marcia Shields in Oklahoma City (marcia.shields@okc.procure.com, 405773-6740) or Beverly Tanabe in Chicago (beverly. tanabe@chi.procure.com, 630-821-6403).
ProCure CEO Hadley Ford, Chicago ProCures 100th patient James Tonkin & Chicago ProCure President Jim Williams
Since opening on October 19, 2010, the Center has used proton therapy to treat patients with noncancerous tumors and cancerous tumors in the brain, central nervous system, head and neck, lung, gastrointestinal tract and prostate, as well as sarcomas and many pediatric cancers.
The ProCure Cancer Foundation provides support to proton radiation therapy patients in need of financial assistance by funding non-medical expenses associated with the treatment to ensure access to the improved quality of life proton therapy enables. The foundation also supports patients at ProCure Proton Therapy Centers and in non-ProCure proton treatment centers. For more information, to apply for a grant, or to donate, please visit http://www.procurecancerfoundation.org.
LILLY GILLON
Lilly was originally diagnosed in February with a fourth ventricle tumor. Following surgery and a short stint of chemotherapy, Lilly and her family were on their way to Oklahoma City. Lilly was initially accompanied by her mother, Cheria, and her Aunt Brenda while father, Graham, stayed in England with Lillys three older sisters. When he joined them after the first half of her treatment schedule, Graham could not believe the transformation Lilly had taken in such a short time. After Lilly had her tumor removed in February, she stopped eating, stopped speaking and stopped walking. When I arrived in Oklahoma City I was delighted to see how happy and healthy she was, said Graham. She was walking and was definitely enjoying American food, especially fries and ranch sauce. Lilly is now the happy child she was before she was diagnosed with cancer, added Graham. When we return home, Ill be talking to anyone who will listen, including the NHS review board, about how brilliant this experience and these people have been at the treatment center in Oklahoma City.
Lilly Gillon
THOMAS ADAMS
Thomas was diagnosed in January of 2011 with a rare brain tumor. His parents, Ted and Rebecca, are both physicians and were dedicated to making sure he received the best and most advanced treatment available. After two operations and three months of ineffective chemotherapy, the Adams were granted funding from the NHS for Thomas to receive proton therapy at ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City. Although we are both physicians, we didnt entirely understand proton therapy, said Ted. But if it could help cure our son, we were determined to make sure he received the most effective treatment possible. Thomas arrived at the OKC center in June with his parents and a soon-to-be little brother. Rebecca was eight months pregnant when they arrived, making the situation that much more difficult. Thomas and his parents welcomed his little brother, Inan, into the world in late June, and according to Thomas father, they would return to the UK with three incredible gifts. We left for home with a boy who is (hopefully) cured, a little baby and some great new friends, said Ted. The American spirit of hospitality and all around greatness has been evident in Oklahoma and at the ProCure Proton Therapy Center. He added, Not many people will come to the United States and go back with their own personal souvenir, but weve got one and his name is Inan.
View Radiation Vacation, produced by OKC ProCure graduates Gary Bridwell (Edmond, Okla.) and Derek Rose (Las Vegas, Nev.): View Here
Smiling faces about with the warmest of greetings At the front desk and at all of the meetings They make me feel welcome and just like a king These are a few of my favorite things! When my gown flaps Then my team claps And Im feeling sad I simply remember my favorite things And then I dont feel so bad Nurse Rachel with questions from A to Z How are feeling, do you have ED? Water, more water til I could make springs There are a few of my favorite things Merediths smile as she says Now be still Lie on the table and dont be a pill Lindsey is dancing as if she has wings These are a few of my favorite things. When insurance says no! Then Peggy re-loads And says Dont feel so sad, Just remember your favorite things And I will go after the cads! Does this help your golf game? asks Matt and John With bubbly Jordan and Zanes steady brawn Doctor Keoles examining These are a few of my favorite things Now my cure comes! I must leave soon And Im feeling sad But I will remember my favorite folks And then I wont feel soooo bad!
Share Chicago graduate Martin Rhombergs journey as he documents his experience and education through proton therapy: View Here
INKED FOR PROTONS Former OKC ProCure patient Pete Heggs from Laramie, Wyo. shows off his tattoo of the Bragg Peak, captured in an Indian dreamcatcher with a hydrogen atom in the middle. Omar Zeidan, P.h.D., director of medical physics in OKC, provided consultation for the design.
William Hartsell, M.D., is the president of Radiation Oncology Consultants (ROC) and the medical director of the CDH Proton Center, A ProCure Center. He previously served as the medical director of radiation oncology at Good Samaritan Cancer Center and Lutheran General Cancer Care Center. Dr. Hartsell joined ROC in 1997 after completing his residency at Rush-Presbyterian St. Lukes Medical Center in Chicago, where he spent six years as an assistant professor and three years as director of the residency program. He also served as an associate professor and clinical director of the radiation oncology program at the University of Tennessee, Memphis. Dr. Hartsell is a board-certified radiation oncologist and specializes in brain tumors, pediatric tumors, head and neck cancers and lung cancer. He earned his medical degree at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, and completed his internship at Presbyterian-St. Lukes Medical Center in Denver. Dr. Hartsell has authored more than 120 papers on topics including palliative care and the treatment of breast, brain, prostate, and head and neck cancers and Hodgkin disease. He has also directed a number of national studies and participated in more than 70 visiting professorships and guest lecture opportunities. Dr. Hartsell served on the Illinois board of directors for the American Cancer Society for 10 years.
ProCure Proton Therapy Center, Oklahoma City, OK Sameer Keole, M.D., is a partner at Radiation Medicine Associates (RMA) and the medical director at the ProCure Proton Therapy Center, Oklahoma City. Prior to joining RMA and ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma, he spent four years treating patients and conducting research at the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville, Fla., where he specialized in the treatment of pediatric and prostate patients. While at the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute, Dr. Keole also served as an assistant professor of medicine at the Shands Cancer Center at the University of Florida at Gainesville. After completing his residency and serving as chief resident at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Dr. Keole joined Academic Radiation Oncologists in Detroit. Dr. Keole completed his undergraduate work at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and received his M.D. from the Ross University School of Medicine, Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies. He has authored more than 30 papers and abstracts and is sought-after as a presenter at national and international oncology and radiation conferences. Dr. Keole is a member of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation, the American Medical Association (AMA) and ASTRO (American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology).
ProCure Proton Therapy Center, Somerset, NJ Brian H. Chon, M.D., is a radiation oncologist with Princeton Radiation Oncology in Princeton, N.J. and the medical director at the ProCure Proton Therapy Center, Somerset, N.J. He graduated with honors from Swarthmore College, Philadelphia and received his medical degree from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, N.J. as a member of the esteemed Alpha Omega Alpha Society. His residency was completed at the Massachusetts General Hospital of the Harvard Medical School in Boston where he was appointed chief resident in radiation oncology. Dr. Chon continued at Harvard, advancing his medical career with a fellowship in science research on breast oncogenesis. He gained extensive proton therapy experience from both the Harvard Cyclotron and the Burr Proton Therapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital with special expertise in cranial and extracranial stereotactic radiation therapy as well as high-dose rate brachytherapy for the treatment of gynecological and breast cancer. In addition, Dr. Chon practices at Princeton Radiation Oncology Center in Monroe TWP, N.J. and currently has medical privileges at Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center in Flemington, N.J., CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, N.J.; St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pa.; and University Medical Center at Princeton in Princeton, N.J. He is a member of the American Medical Association and the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology.
SUMMARY
The purpose of this study is to compare the effects (good and bad) on patients with prostate cancer by comparing the standard dose of radiation therapy (44 treatments over 8-9 weeks) with a higher daily dose of radiation (5 treatments over 1-2 weeks) to see if the effects of the treatments are similar or better
ProCure is on schedule to open its third (Somerset, N.J.) proton therapy cancer treatment center in early 2012, and its fourth (Seattle) in early 2013. With two currently operating centers in Oklahoma City and Warrenville, Ill., a Chicago suburb ProCure is the only proton therapy treatment organization in the U.S. with multiple treatment centers, allowing wider access to patients, and benefiting from efficiencies and best practices to drive down cost and improve quality care. The ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Somerset, N.J. is on schedule to begin treating patients in early 2012. In Somerset, New Jersey June, the center achieved Substantial Completion and its certificate of occupancy. These designations mean the actual building is complete with just minor follow-up activities required, and that staff may now reside in the building. In addition to center President James Jarrett, some staff is already residing at the center while recruiting efforts are actively underway. A major milestone was achieved on July 14, at which time full beam was extracted from the cyclotron to the degrader, and the beam transport line is now being commissioned. The ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Somerset is collaborating with CentraState Healthcare System and Princeton Radiation Oncology. In Seattle, the SCCA Proton Center, a ProCure center, is in the construction phase and on target to treat patients in early 2013. ProCure has collaborated with the Seattle Cancer Care Association (SCCA), one of only 40 elite National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in U.S. SCCA and ProCure chose to build the proton center at Northwest Hospital because of the hospitals history of building health care partnerships to provide emerging and innovative treatments to its community, and because the center will be conveniently located near other cancer services and complementary facilities on the hospital campus.
Seattle, Washington