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Rhode to Cancer Recovery
Written by Emily King
W
When Harry Rhodes discovered that he had prostate cancer , it was an accident . He had been undergoing a PET scan to investigate some suspicious findings in his lungs . But doctors found something else concerning--prostate cancer .
Mr . Rhodes has lived in southwestern Pennsylvania for many years . He owned a print shop in Waynesburg before retiring and moving to Deep Valley , PA , a small town close to the West Virginia border .
“ If you blink , you ’ ll miss it ,” he says , describing his hometown .
Despite his early retirement Mr . Rhodes has kept busy . He and his wife , Pam , own a woodworking business , creating a variety of projects from furniture to beautiful hand-crafted wooden bowls . They have shipped their creations as far as Rome . The husband and wife make the perfect team . Mr . Rhodes says that his wife acts as his eyes , as his vision has been impaired for some time .
Though he still had to travel over an hour to get to WHS Washington Hospital , Mr . Rhodes says that traveling to Pittsburgh or another city was out of the question .
“ If I would have had to go to Pittsburgh , I wouldn ’ t have gotten the treatment ,” he states matter-of-factly .
Fortunately , Mr . Rhodes and others living in southwestern PA have access to some of the most advanced cancer care close to home . For over a decade , Washington Health System has partnered with UPMC Hillman Cancer Center to bring state-of-the-art radiation therapy , improved diagnostic capabilities , and other support services to cancer patients right in their own communities . UPMC Hillman Cancer Center is one of the largest integrated cancer networks in the nation , with more than 70 treatment facilities located in local communities in PA , western NY , northern MD and eastern Ohio . This partnership provides area doctors and patients local access to the latest and most advanced treatments with expert radiation oncologists .
“ I have to admit , at first my wife and I did have a bit of concern about the partnership with UPMC and being part of a big healthcare system ,” says Mr . Rhodes . “ But we worked closely with our WHS urologist Dr . Damon Hoffman , and he relieved all of my concerns .” treatment for prostate cancer . His doctor consulted with other doctors from UPMC , and they decided to move forward with the hormone treatment as an additional safeguard to treat his cancer . After seeing the thoughtful consideration that went into this recommendation and the collaboration among doctors , Mr . Rhodes was fully confident in his care team and their decisions .
Mr . Rhodes ’ treatment plan included the placement of fiducial markers , which are tiny metal objects about the size of a grain of rice . These markers are placed in the prostate to provide a target for the provider to line up the beams of radiation . This ensures that the treatment is highly focused on the tumor and can help avoid affecting healthy tissue . It also acts as a blueprint so that each radiation treatment is delivered the same way each time . The fiducial markers can remain in the patient ’ s body for the rest of their life with no risk to their health .
In addition to fiducial marker placement and hormone treatments , Mr . Rhodes received external radiation treatments at Washington Health System Radiation Oncology , in partnership with UPMC Hillman Cancer Center , five days a week for five and a half weeks for a total of 28 treatments . Technological advancements in radiation oncology have reduced treatments for patients . In the case of Mr . Rhodes , the standard would have been nine weeks . Despite the daily travel required to get to his treatments , Mr . Rhodes says it was much more convenient than driving every day to Pittsburgh . He praises his team of doctors and nurses , commending them on going above and beyond to make his treatments as comfortable as possible and helping to answer all of his questions .
Today , Mr . Rhodes is several weeks out from the end of his treatment and is cancer free . He credits the success of his treatment to the expertise of his doctor and the collaboration of other medical experts . The partnership between WHS and UPMC allowed doctors to determine the best course of treatment resulting in the best outcome , all while allowing the patient to remain close to home . Mr . Rhodes looks forward to many more years of using his creative gifts and perfecting his woodworking with his wife .
Visit whs . org / cancer for more information .
The team of doctors was deciding on a course of treatment for Mr . Rhodes and had differing opinions on whether he should undergo a hormone treatment , which is often used to supplement radiation
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