New form of treatment helps extend life expectancy for liver cancer patients
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Doctors told a woman suffering from a deadly form of liver cancer that she only had a short time to live. But thanks to cutting edge technology, that short time to live has been extended.
Brenda Leach was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer over a year ago so she sought help at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill.
Brenda Leach was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer over a year ago so she sought help at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill.
"My cancer was so rare that there was no treatment," said Leach. "They told me to go home and get my life in order - there wasn't much hope"
Leach said the only thing she could do was ask God for a miracle, but then she found Dr. Steven Crawford. The radiologist for New Hanover Regional Medical Center is an expert on the cutting edge with selective internal radiation therapy, or SIRS. The procedure is a way to treat tumors through the arteries, instead of using traditional methods.
"What we are finding is when we do that, our patients live longer, to the order of 18 months, which in cancer terms is spectacular," said Crawford.
NHRMC is one of the only hospitals in the southeast to offer this type of treatment. Leach is proof that it works as she continues to see good results and stay in remission.
"I pick myself back up and I said, ‘Ok Brenda, you got one of two things. You can go home and live or you can go home and die.' I decided to go ahead and live," said Leach.
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