"Field of dreams": How hyperbaric oxygen therapy pitched a perfect game against radiation damage
Six years ago, Patrick Murphy was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer. After surgery, 34 radiation treatments and chemotherapy, he miraculously recovered. Six years later, he noticed blood in his urine.
Although he’d recovered from cancer, the treatments had damaged his bladder, a problem that landed him in the hospital five more times.
Finally, his urologist ordered hyperbaric oxygen therapy at HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge Wound Care & Hyperbarics in Thornton, Colorado, a part of HCA HealthONE, to see if Pat’s damage could finally heal.
After a few sessions, Pat, now 75, began to improve.
“People always ask me, ‘Hyperbaric chamber? Isn’t that scary? Sounds like you’re stuck in a bad place,’” Pat said. “But, honestly, it’s extraordinarily pleasant.”
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) promotes faster healing of difficult wounds by using pure oxygen. As you breathe pure oxygen while lying in a pressurized chamber, your body collects more oxygen that promotes the cellular repair of the damaged areas of your body as the oxygen moves through. Wounds need oxygen to regenerate tissues properly and receiving 100% pure oxygen accelerates the process.
HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge Wound Care & Hyperbarics uses HBOT to address a variety of conditions including burns, diabetic foot ulcers, radiation injuries, gangrene, necrotizing fasciitis, skin grafts and osteomyelitis, a recurrent infection of the bone.
Developed in the early 1900s, the U.S. Navy began using hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the 1930s to treat deep sea divers with “the bends,” or decompression sickness. In a hospital setting, it’s also used for acute carbon monoxide poisoning and cyanide poisoning. Most insurance companies approve hyperbaric oxygen treatment for the aftereffects of radiation.
“Radiation cystitis is pretty common for men who require radiation treatment for prostate cancer, as well as other late soft tissue radiation injury (esophagitis, colitis) from other cancer treatments,” said Dr. Marylouise Cullinan, an infectious disease specialist with HCA HealthONE, who has used HBOT for more than 20 years. “He was fortunate to have an excellent response to HBOT, and we were able to mitigate any potential dangers effectively.”
Dr. Cullinan said Mountain Ridge Wound Care & Hyperbarics approaches treatment with care: only all-cotton gowns for patients, absolutely no deodorants or perfumes, one technician for every two chambers and safety training with the fire department. Oxygen and potential sparks don’t mix. Dr. Cullinan treats only the specific diagnoses that the medical community agrees are helped by HBOT and follows the guidelines set down by the U.S. Navy. Off label use, she said, can be dangerous.
“You lie down, then slide into this plexiglass chamber. It’s not claustrophobic at all,” Pat said. “The staff at Mountain Ridge Wound Care was very helpful and I could see and hear them all the time. There’s no pain involved, and believe me, I know pain.”
Pat underwent 40 sessions, each about two hours. He spent his time watching baseball movies — “Field of Dreams,” “The Natural,” “Bull Durham.”
“My goal now would be to take the fear and mystery out of the thing for others,” said Pat. “I want people to know it’s very easy and nothing to be afraid of. It’s amazing that just pure oxygen can heal your body.”
Pat is back to his own life. And all those baseball movies have him thinking about Iowa — maybe a trip is in his future to see the real field of dreams.
Wound care in Denver
Wounds can cause chronic pain and distress — but healing starts here. At HCA HealthONE, we provide comprehensive care for acute, chronic and nonhealing wounds. Together, our specialized doctors and surgeons work to effectively heal wounds and restore bodily function through both surgical and nonsurgical methods including hyperbaric medicine, limb preservation and burn care. Learn more about wound care at HCA HealthONE.