When Jean Roussea, who had lived in Fallbrook for 21 years, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, his doctor felt the best treatment would be radiation therapy.

However, at 82 years old, Roussea’s suffered damage to his bladder from the radiation.

"[Roussea] was treated for prostate cancer with radiation therapy, which helps insure that there will be no reoccurrence of cancer," said Roussea’s physician, Dr. Roger Schechter, who is also the medical director of the Palomar Pomerado Health Wound Care Center in San Marcos. "However, as a side effect, some of the tissues around his prostate gland were damaged. The problem is that the organ that was damaged the most was his bladder."

According to Schechter, Roussea’s bladder had signs indicating the urologic damage could only have come from chemo radiation.

"Tissue can break, and people bleed through [their] urinary tract," said Schechter. "The bladder can then be blocked off by blood. In this case, Roussea bled so much that he had to be hospitalized with transfusions to keep from dying of blood loss."

Doctors grimly confirmed that Roussea had radiation-induced hemorrhagic cystitis (HC).

According to a medical release by the Physician’s Guide to Hyperbaric Medical Services, HC can occur as early as three months after radiation or may not become evident for many years.

Significant Grade 3-4 HC occurs in three to eight percent of post-pelvic radiation patients, despite advances in administration technique and delivery. Historically, severe hemorrhagic cystitis has been associated with a 44 percent mortality rate despite aggressive urinary diversion and cystectomy.

Though HC is serious, Schechter was able to implement a treatment that would be able to help Roussea with the effect of his radiation: hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

"With hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a patient is placed inside of a chamber and exposed to a high percentage of oxygen and increased pressure," said Schechter.

Sealed inside the chamber, the patient is introduced to an environment of 100 percent oxygen and raised atmospheric pressure.

"At very high pressure, such as double our normal atmosphere, our body receives ten times the amount of oxygen more than it would if the patient Advertisement

[ Chatton and Associates ] is breathing regularly," said Schechter. "By using oxygen as a medicine, we can stimulate healing in the tissues that wouldn’t normally heal because of permanent damage. In a way, we can reverse permanent damage."

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) improves oxygenation and induces angiogenesis within radiation-damaged tissues among other beneficial effects, according to research.

Several studies have shown a 76 to 100 percent response rate with patients demonstrating complete or partial symptomatic improvement, even in those patients who have undergone prior medical, cystoscopic, or intravesical therapies.

Chronic conditions that respond to hyperbaric oxygen treatment include diabetic foot ulcers and bone infections.

The treatments are time consuming; patients need to go in for treatment for two hours a day, five days a week.

"It’s kind of like a part time job," said Schechter. "The treatment typically lasts for two months, with 40 treatments in that amount of time. It’s a big commitment of time."

Initially, Roussea was only to receive 30 treatments, but when his body continued to show improvement, Schechter decided to extend the treatment to the maximum of 80 sessions.

"The treatment has a gradual effect," said Schechter. "Patients usually don’t see significant clinical effects until [they have had] 25 to 30 sessions."

While Roussea still made trips to the hospital for transfusions between sessions, he did see improvement.

"At first, I felt the same, but periodically I would stop bleeding," said Roussea. "After the 80 treatments, I stopped bleeding. The treatment cured my bladder; I no longer have HC. Let me tell you: when you no longer have to go to the hospital because you are bleeding in the middle of the night, it’s an amazing feeling."

A year later, Roussea has to use a catheter because of his sensitive bladder, but has not bled since the hyperbaric oxygen treatments.

"Roussea had an awful quality of life. He was at risk of bleeding to death," said Schechter. "His was a special case, and the effects of this treatment were life-saving. That’s the beauty of this story – Roussea had the worst of the worst conditions, but he got better."