Proton Therapy Offers Hope To Those With Inoperable Brain, Spinal Tumors

NEW YORK (CBSNewYok) -- A person is diagnosed with a brain or spinal cord tumor about every six minutes in the U.S.

For many, the tumors are inoperable because they grow too close to critical parts of the body, but as CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez explained, new technology is giving those patients hope.

Just a few months ago Rhea Birusingh wasn't sure she would get to spend quiet moments with her son.

Shortly after getting pregnant, Rhea began having blurry vision. She knew changes like that are common during pregnancy, but as a doctor, she suspected something was wrong.

"I pay particular attention to my eyes, and I noticed that my left eye was not moving left the way it should be," she said.

Scans showed Rhea had developed a tumor right between her eye and a critical part of her brain.

"Nothing could be done during pregnancy of course, and after pregnancy no surgery was possible because of the critical location of the tumor," Dr. Naren Ramakrishna, UF Health Cancer Center, Orlando Health, said.

After doctors induced labor to save Rhea's baby, the race was on to save her sight. Rhea went to the UF Health Cancer Center - Orlando Health.

Normally doctors would use x-rays to radiate a tumor like Rhea's, but that can damage surrounding tissue. Instead, Rhea underwent a treatment known as proton therapy.

"It's a big burst of energy right inside the tumor, and then there's actually no protons beyond the tumor, so there's no radiation dose. So it's a dramatic difference," Dr. Ramakrishna said.

A three-story, 200,000-lbs machine speeds protons to more than 400-million mph, then beams them precisely into tumor cells.

Without proton therapy , Rhea may never have been able to watch her child grow up.

"All of the negative things you could thing about, it could be a lot. But you think about all the positives, it's phenomenal," Dr. Ramakrishna said.

Proton beam therapy is most useful against tumors near important parts of the body such as the eye, brain, and spinal cord. It is also used for treating children because it lessens the chance of harming healthy, developing tissue.

There are only about 60 of the machines in the world.