Brain Cancer Patient Enjoys Productive Life Thanks to Effective Focal Therapy at The Valley Hospital
July 25, 2012 — Over the past two years cancer survivor Rachael Harris has played in soccer tournaments, gotten married, and continued to work as a vice president and operations manager for an investment bank in New York City. State-of-the-art focal therapy she received at The Valley Hospital to treat three cancerous brain tumors saved not only Harris’ life but also her ability to work and enjoy leisure activities.
Harris’ focal therapy at Valley’s Daniel & Gloria Blumenthal Cancer Center combined complex neurosurgery to remove three golf-ball-sized tumors that had metastasized to her brain from breast cancer with an advanced type of radiation therapy called TomoTherapy. This focal therapy targeted only cancerous tissue in her brain and did not harm surrounding healthy areas of her brain, thus saving her intellect and the very essence of who Rachael is.
A Diagnosis of Cancer
In December 2007, at the age of 27, Harris was shocked to learn that a hard breast lump she suspected was a bruise sustained during a soccer game was instead an aggressive type of breast cancer. Chemotherapy and surgery followed.
Says Harris, a resident of Glen Rock: “My boyfriend, Jonathan, proposed to me two weeks after my surgery, and life went on over the summer of 2009. I felt well, played soccer again, and planned our wedding.”
But in October 2009 Harris began suffering severe headaches and fainted in her kitchen. Tests revealed that the breast cancer had spread to her brain.
Advanced Treatment for Brain Tumors
The brain is a common site for breast cancer metastasis, says Valley’s Director of Neuro-Oncology Disease Management, Anthony D’Ambrosio, M.D., because chemotherapy often cannot cross the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain.
“Because Rachael is young and the rest of her body was healthy, focal therapy was an ideal treatment for her,” explains Dr. D’Ambrosio, Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. “Focal therapy, which can include surgery, radiation, or a combination of both, is a targeted method of treatment for brain tumors that meet certain criteria. Our Neuro-Oncology team is one of the few in the area using this type of treatment.”
During a multidisciplinary conference of the Neuro-Oncology team, it was decided that surgery for all three tumors, followed by TomoTherapy would be best for Rachel. The Blumenthal Cancer Center was one of the first in the tri-state area to offer TomoTherapy, which delivers three-dimensional beams of radiation that conform to the exact contours of a tumor. For Rachel, the TomoTherapy destroyed any microscopic cancer cells remaining after surgery. In January 2010, she began the 20-treatment regimen, with her mother, a Valley employee, always at her side.
“By using TomoTherapy we avoided radiating her whole brain and preserved her ability to think, reason, remember, and function in her job,” says Chad DeYoung, M.D., Co-Medical Director of the Blumenthal Cancer Center’s Radiation Oncology Department.
Rachel, who on May 7, 2010, married Jonathan, says she put her complete trust in her Valley cancer care team: “I received wonderful care from everyone, directed by doctors at the top of their game.”
“If Rachael had instead undergone whole brain radiation, which is the standard in many hospitals, she would not have been herself and would have lost her neurocognitive function during the past two years,” states Dr. D’Ambrosio. “Her positive attitude and family support have greatly enhanced her treatment.”
The Gamma Knife Center
Focal therapy is just one component of the Blumenthal Cancer Center’s cutting-edge capabilities for diagnosing and treating brain tumors. Another is gamma knife radiosurgery. The Cancer Center’s newly opened Gamma Knife Center is the first in the region to feature the Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion, recognized worldwide as the best of the best in stereotactic radiosurgery technology.
For more information, call the Institute for Brain and Spine Radiosurgery at 201-634-5585.
