Author: Leslie Toldo
Mary Lou Brose never imagined having a CT scan of her back could be life-changing, but results from the test turned her world upside down. A surgeon ordered the CT to get a closer look at what was happening with Mary Lou’s sciatic nerve, and what he found – a mass in her lung that turned out to be cancerous – brought the discussion about her back pain to an abrupt halt.
“The surgeon noticed something in my lung,” Mary Lou said. “He said I was not going to have back surgery until this was taken care of.”
The news hit especially hard since Mary Lou’s husband was still recovering from throat cancer treatments.
“He was in so much pain and agony, it was horrible. He is still suffering,” Mary Lou said.
Mary Lou suddenly found herself in and out of different doctors’ offices. One of them was McLaren Flint thoracic surgeon Dr. John Kuhn. He performed Mary Lou’s robotic surgery to remove what turned out to be a cancerous mass in her lung.
“Dr. Kuhn was wonderful, absolutely wonderful,” Mary Lou said. “The good news after surgery was the cancer had not spread.”
Although she lived in Clarkston, Mary Lou found her way to a Flint thoracic surgeon for a very specific reason- proton therapy was available in Flint at the McLaren Proton Therapy Center.
“While my husband was getting radiation, I read an article about proton therapy,” said Mary Lou. “I told my husband if we had only known about this treatment, that’s what he would have had.”
Mary Lou’s husband had traditional x-ray radiation. X-rays, or photons, deliver radiation to the tumor, then leave a dose of radiation behind the tumor as they exit the body, which can damage healthy tissue. Proton therapy is also radiation, but protons deliver it differently, which can greatly lessen the short- and long-term side effects.
“The difference is, protons can deliver higher doses of radiation directly to the tumor, taking on the tumor’s shape and size, and stopping at the tumor,” said Mary Lou’s radiation oncologist and McLaren Proton Therapy Center Medical Director Dr. Hesham Gayar. “Without that exit dose of radiation, there is much less risk of damage to healthy tissue, and much less risk of side effects.”
After watching her husband suffer with some of the effects of radiation for his throat cancer, Mary Lou was relieved to be a candidate for proton therapy.
“My husband has lost 60 pounds. He can’t eat solid food. He lives on liquid, because the radiation damaged the salivary glands in his throat,” Mary Lou said. “With proton you have damage control.”
For Mary Lou, the decision to have proton therapy was simple, and well worth the drives back and forth from Clarkston for daily treatments for several weeks.
“I had no side effects with proton therapy. None,” Mary Lou said. “I can’t say enough about the people that helped me when I went for proton therapy. Their caring for me was amazing. Everyone was so kind and professional.”
Mary Lou also had chemo at the Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Flint. It has been quite a journey, but one important weapon has helped her get through it all.
“I am a positive person. I am very strong-spirited. I didn’t go into a corner and cry my eyes out. I told my children to dry their tears. I have a lot of faith, and I believe God helped me through,” Mary Lou said. “Also, I felt so comfortable after I met with my doctors in Flint.”
To learn more about proton therapy, or to set up a consultation to find out if you or a loved one might be a candidate for the treatments, visit mclaren.org/protontherapy or call 855 MY PROTON (697-7686).