Teresa Rea was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer but conventional surgery was not an option due to her weakened lungs from emphysema. She was treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), a precise outpatient treatment, over 6 days. SBRT has higher cure rates than conventional radiation and fewer side effects. Rea had no side effects and is now cancer-free, able to play with her granddaughter and enjoy time with family.

1. Newtechnology
helpsTeresaRea
beatlungcancer
A New Lease onLife
Vim & Vigor · WINTER 2011 49
When Teresa Rea learned she had lung cancer, she received some
good news along with the bad: She was an ideal candidate for a
groundbreaking treatment.
After a 15-year battle with emphysema, Rea’s lungs had become weak. Because she could
breathe at only 23 percent of what is considered normal, surgery was not an option for her,
even with stage 1 lung cancer.
Instead, Rea received stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), an advanced outpatient
treatment available at the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center.
SBRT provides a higher cure rate than conventional radiation treatment, is much quicker
and has a lower risk of side effects, says Todd Scarbrough, M.D., Rea’s radiation oncologist. >
Enjoying life, cancer-free:
Teresa Rea and her granddaughter.
FdVVWI1190_49-51_NewLease.indd 49 9/16/11 9:43 AM

2. SURGERY WITHOUT A SCALPEL
Typically, patients receiving radiation treatment for
early stage lung cancer get it five days a week for
about six or seven weeks and are susceptible to side
effects, like an ongoing cough. They usually have a
60 to 70 percent chance of long-term cure.
But with advances in today’s radiation treatment,
physicians can fine-tune radiation beams and deliver
Teresa Rea, right, is back to enjoying the things she loves most in life, like time with family, thanks to the team at OMHS.
ONLINE
Get Cancer Answers
Don’t face cancer alone. To learn more
about the treatment options, support groups
and educational programs available at the
Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center, visit
omhs.org and search “cancer center.”
Vim & Vigor · WINTER 201150
them with the utmost accuracy, which has increased
the SBRT cure rate to 80 to 90 percent, making it
comparable to surgery.
“Some call it surgery without a scalpel,”
Scarbrough says. “We can compress the time frame
and offer higher doses per day.”
And side effects are few and far between—some-
times nonexistent.
Rea received her treatment in four doses over six
days, which is typical.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Rea remembers.
“But I was all about trying something new.”
The staff at the cancer center took the extra effort
to make her comfortable, Rea says.
“They always made sure that they had oxygen
ready and played music. The treatment wasn’t too
tiring; it was easy for me.”
FdVVWI1190_49-51_NewLease.indd 50 9/16/11 9:43 AM

3. ANewToolinthe
WaronCancer
When it comes to detecting and beating cancer, earlier
is better.
Cancer patients diagnosed early on, when cancer is still clas-
sified as stage 1, have a better chance of recovery. When the
disease is found early, surgery can often provide an effective
treatment, allowing the tumor to be removed before it grows
and spreads.
But some people with stage 1 disease
aren’t candidates for surgery because of
weakened lungs that make an operation
extremely risky.
Now, with progress in radiation ther-
apy, patients who can’t undergo conven-
tional surgery are finding renewed hope.
A new type of treatment called
stereotactic body radiation therapy
(SBRT) has the ability to remove tumors in
patients who have stage 1 lung cancer without surgery.
And it’s an outpatient procedure, which means patients can
receive it at the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center and don’t
have to be admitted to the hospital.
The doses are delivered either in a single treatment or in a
small number of doses—usually six or fewer—killing the cancer
cells in the inoperable tumor.
“Each treatment only takes about 90 minutes out of a
patient’s day,” says Todd Scarbrough, M.D., a radiation oncolo-
gist at the cancer center.
Not only is SBRT quick, but it is extremely precise.
“The accuracy at which SBRT can be administered
delivers radiation only to the tumor and preserves healthy
tissue, bones and organs surrounding the cancerous area,”
Scarbrough says. “A fast-growing number of clinical studies
show that SBRT is a practical and well-tolerated treatment for
a number of cancer diseases.
“Many of these conditions, like stage 1 lung cancer, would be
difficult or impossible to treat without SBRT prior to recent
advances in cancer treatment,” he says. “We are fortunate to
have such an advanced treatment available for patients at our
cancer center.”
Todd Scarbrough, M.D.
Vim & Vigor · WINTER 2011 51
BACK TO LIFE
Today, at 56, life is different for Rea. She’s cancer-free.
Before her cancer treatment, Rea says, “I couldn’t
lift my youngest granddaughter. Now I can pick her
up and carry her around or get down on the floor and
play with her.”
Feeling better has also given Rea a newfound sense
of freedom. She goes shopping with her daughters
and drives herself anywhere she wants to go.
“I was always out of breath,” Rea says. “I could not
walk any distance at all, but now I can walk however
long I want. I could not talk while walking but now
I can do that. I could only hold conversations for a
short time or I would get winded.
“I felt that I didn’t have very much life left,” Rea
says. “Now I feel like I have a lot more life to live.”
The suffering in Rea’s life allowed her to discover
what she treasures most. “I found out that relation-
ships are the most important thing,” she says. “I’ve
been a believer for a long time. I didn’t know how
very dear my faith was until now.”
Todd Scarbrough, M.D., is a radiation oncologist—
a cancer specialist dedicated to treating cancer patients
with radiation therapy. He has treated approximately 100
patients with stereotactic body radiotherapy.
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