Dwight Heron, MD, is an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and vice chairman for clinical affairs at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Dr. Heron is also using respiratory gating therapy for lung cancer and other tumors that move inside the body as the patient breathes, including rare and difficult-to-treat tumors such as gall bladder and pancreatic cancer.

When 61-year-old Ted Brooks, a lawyer from Pittsburgh, was diagnosed with an inoperable 3-centimeter tumor in his pancreas, the prognosis was so chilling that Brooks opted to participate in a clinical trial at UPMC. After conducting 28 sessions of respiratory-gated radiation and four chemotherapy treatments, doctors were able to shrink the tumor so surgeons could operate. “During the entire radiation treatment, I never missed any work,” Brooks says. “And it helped keep me focused on a positive outcome.” Following his surgery, tests continue to show that the remaining margins are clear of cancer and Brooks is back to practicing law part-time.

“Respiratory gating is enabling us to use concentrated doses of radiation in areas that would not have been feasible otherwise,” Dr. Heron says. “And we’ve already seen a number of impressive successes.”

For Denise Dopico, that dramatic success has meant more time with her family and a greater appreciation of life. Now, two years after she was first diagnosed, the tumors that once threatened her life have disappeared. “I feel great,” Dopico says. “I had this little bump in the road, but I’m cruising right along now.”

Continued
< Previous | 1 | 2