Cancer survivors praise proton therapy center to open in DuPage

Diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago, Alan Leahigh met with his doctor to review treatment options.

He didn't like what he heard.

All the choices came with possible side effects, including urinary incontinence and impotence.

"This didn't really appeal to me too much," the 65-year-old Geneva man recalled. "I wanted to talk about cancer in the past tense and not have to live with the results for the rest of my life."

So Leahigh did some research and learned about proton therapy, which uses proton beams to treat a variety of cancers. The treatment is touted for having fewer side effects than traditional radiation therapy.

Convinced of the benefits, Leahigh last year traveled to Loma Linda, Calif., for 10 weeks of proton therapy.

"I was fortunate enough, financially and otherwise, to be able to go across the country to get therapy," said Leahigh, now disease-free.

Leahigh and other cancer survivors say a $140 million proton therapy center that Central DuPage Hospital and ProCure Treatment Centers built in Warrenville will make it easier for Chicago-area residents to receive the alternative treatment. The facility will be the first of its kind in Illinois.

Called CDH Proton Center, A ProCure Center, it is scheduled to treat its first patients on Nov. 1. Once it reaches full capacity, the 60,000-square-foot facility along Weaver Parkway, just south of I-88, will be capable of treating about 1,500 people a year.

"It's another option for patients in this area," said Dr. Christy Kesslering, medical director of radiation oncology at the neighboring CDH Cancer Center. "For some patients, it may not be the right choice. But for some, it's an outstanding option for them based on where the tumor is located."

For Susan Heuer of Chicago, proton therapy was the only desirable option when she was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer three years ago.

Because the tumor was near her eyes, she was told there was a chance she could lose her sight if she received traditional radiation therapy.

"When they told me I would go blind from the treatment, I thought, 'Oh dear God, what kind of an option is that?'" Heuer said.

Thanks to a suggestion from her niece, the 62-year-old decided to get proton therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Like traditional radiation therapy, proton therapy keeps cancer cells from growing and dividing. But because the proton beam can be specifically targeted at the tumor, higher, more effective doses can be delivered while causing less damage to healthy tissue.

"Protons give radiation therapy in the tumors and less in the heathy tissue and that makes them safer," said Dr. William Hartsell, medical director of the proton center. "Because the way the protons work, they are little bit more effective than standard radiation as well."

The types of tumors that can be treated with proton therapy include head and neck, brain, central nervous system, prostate, lung, gastrointestinal and a variety of pediatric cancers, officials said.

The Warrenville proton center has four treatment rooms, including two inclined-beam rooms with equipment that allow the proton beam to be delivered from different angles. To treat hard-to-reach tumors, there's also a gantry room where the beam can be rotated 360 degrees around a patient.

Each procedure doesn't take very long. Once a patient is in position, the proton beam is turned on for 30 seconds to a minute.

Heuer said the 35 treatments she received were "easy" and painless. Today, she is cancer free and still has her eyesight.

"I'm happy to be here to tell you that story," she said.

Fellow cancer survivor Murray Rosenblatt said he hasn't suffered any side effects since being treated for prostate cancer seven years ago at the Loma Linda proton center.

"I am very gratified to see ProCure put this facility up here," the 79-year-old Chicago man said during a tour last week of the Warrenville proton center. "It's very well needed in the state of Illinois. And it's going to be very well used, I'm afraid."

CDH received state approval to construct the center in September 2008 after Northern Illinois University started building a similar $160 million facility in West Chicago. However, the NIU project since has been stalled by a lack of funding.

James Williams, president of the Warrenville proton center, said additional centers are needed because there are more than 63,000 new patients with cancer in Illinois each year. More than 11,000 of those cases could benefit from proton therapy.

"The incident rate of cancer here in Illinois would justify four, five, maybe even six, of these centers," Williams said. "Unfortunately, we won't be able to treat every patient who requires treatment, and that doesn't make anyone feel good."