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| Hyberbaric Oxygen Therapy gave back Rovert Corbett's quality of life. |
Robert Corbett considered himself lucky after his treatment for prostate cancer in early 1992. He says his doctor treated aggressively and after 36 radiation treatments, Corbett says he was cancer free.
But the radiation, while wiping out the cancer, took its toll on Corbett. The radiation burn resulting from the treatments was severe. It caused blood to seep into his colon. "It caused me to be anemic," says Corbett. "I was taking iron and getting IV treatments, but I had no energy."
Corbett endured this lifestyle for nine years. Then in May 2001, while her husband was undergoing some medical tests, Mary Alice Corbett saw an ad for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO).
"Our practice at Saint Joseph Health Center opened in 1991, but the use of hyperberic has been around for a long time," says Jeff Mize, RRT, CHT. "In the 1960s it was used to treat anything and everything-it was really misused and fell out of favor. Then in 1972, treatment guidelines based on scientific studies were established."
"People think of hyberbaric oxygen treatment for the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning or decompression sickness," says Mize. "But in the last five to 10 years, we've seen more patients for the treatment of radiation damage."
The air we breathe normally is 21 percent oxygen. During HBO, the patient breathes 100 percent oxygen under increased pressure. This elevates the blood oxygen level to many times its normal level, which allows the formation of new blood vessels and improved healing.
The patient is put in a tube-like chamber about seven feet long and two and a half feet in diameter. The treatment takes about two hours and patients can sleep, watch TV or listen to music. Most people undergo 30-40 sessions. The treatment is painless, but according to Corbett, it's not exactly pleasant. "It's not a comfortable experience. It's very confining, noisy and sometimes cold."
But Corbett was sick and tired of being sick and tired. "I was bound and determined to have this treatment. It was very important to me-I really thought I was going to bleed to death and that this was my last hope."
Just a few months after completing the HBO treatment, Corbett was told by his doctor his radiation burn was virtually gone. "Those were the happiest words I'd heard in a long time," he says. "My quality of life has improved. I now have the energy to do the things that normal people enjoy doing when they retire. It took all that worrying off my mind."
For more information, call Hyperbaric Medicine Services at 816-943-4600.
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