Patients seek alternative cancer treatment

Leaning across the table at a Sherwood Oaks Christian Church dinner, Lyle Haskin asks Gene Ruder, “Who’d you have?” \nThe scene looks like any other jovial dinner party, but the answer to Haskin’s question refers to who Ruder had as an oncologist at the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute, where both men are being treated for cancer.\nHaskin and Ruder aren’t being treated with traditional radiation, which uses electrons to target cancerous cells. Instead, both found their way to MPRI. MPRI is one of five centers in the country that offer an alternative to electron radiation: proton therapy.\nSince this alternative treatment lasts between two and two and a half months, patients need a place to stay. Jill’s House, which will provide a place for MPRI patients to stay, will be finished next spring. Jill’s House will have 25 rooms and facilities to help accommodate patients and their families throughout the treatment, said Peg Howard, Jill’s House board president.\nUntil then, Sherwood Oaks’ Hoosier Hospitality Ministry provides housing for MPRI patients such as Ruder, from Maple Park, Ill., and Haskin, who is a native of Wheaton, Ill. Various members of the community have opened their homes to patients or donated homes to rent out, said Phil Thompson, Sherwood Oaks facilities personnel manager, who heads the program. Haskin said his positive experience in Bloomington has gone beyond MPRI.\n“It’s not just the MPRI people. It’s also the Hoosier Hospitality people,” he said, referencing a recent golf outing with Thompson, as well as other trips around Bloomington with the group.\n Thompson, who is also a former patient, explained the difference between the traditional radiation and proton therapy as a difference between throwing a wad of paper and a marble at a target. Since the proton (the marble) is heavier than the electron (the wad of paper), the proton’s direction and distance take less force to control. \nThompson said few people know about proton therapy.\n“Most people locally have no idea what MPRI does … (They) don’t know to ask about the treatment here,” he said. “(People) don’t know how special that treatment is.” \nWith radiation, an electron beam goes in through healthy tissue, treats a tumor and goes through more healthy tissue as it comes out. With proton therapy, the beam also goes in through healthy tissue, however, the proton beam hits the tumor and then stops, keeping the treatment from harming healthy tissue beyond that point.\nSince the proton beam affects less healthy tissue, patients generally experience fewer side effects. Haskin said he’s felt only discomfort during the treatment itself, but no pain. He also said he hasn’t felt the effects usual cancer treatments produce. \n“The setup is uncomfortable, but not painful,” he said. “I haven’t experienced fatigue or any other side effects.” \nEd Dickey, director of clinic operations, said the facility treats 25 to 30 patients a day. Before treatment, doctors create a mold in the exact shape of the tumor, which they use to precisely target cancerous areas. Treatment takes about 20 minutes, and complete immobilization is crucial to getting a direct beam, Thompson said. Antsy or anxious children are usually anesthetized. The payoff for patients, Thompson said, is the most important to remember.\n“(Proton therapy) is their last hope for destroying a tumor that could probably take their life,” he said.\nDickey said that MPRI treats prostrate, brain and general neck and head tumors, but proton therapy can’t be used to treat all types of cancer just yet. Dickey said this may change in the future. \n“As proton (therapy) progresses, the more we’ll be able to treat,” he said. \nHaskin and his wife, Pam, said their experience in the waiting room of MPRI resembles a visit to friends rather than a trip to the hospital. Patients and staff catch up with each other, and the atmosphere is lively.\n“There’s lots of laughter,” Haskin said. “The waiting room gets loud.”\nThe Haskin and Ruder families said they’ve also enjoyed Bloomington’s welcoming community. \nAs she described walking into a house provided for them through Hoosier Hospitality that had fresh milk and other food already in the refrigerator, Lyle Haskin’s wife Pam Haskin had tears in her eyes. Lyle Haskin acknowledged a fact of the experience. \n“The truth is, you come here a little scared,” he said.