Discovering Compassionate Cancer Care Close to Home
David S. and his wife, Robin, have a lot of advice to share following David’s recent cancer journey. But one of the biggest messages they want to broadcast is this: if you’re faced with a cancer diagnosis and need radiation treatment, you can go wherever you want regardless of who your primary care physician is, where you had surgery, or who gave you your diagnosis.
For David and Robin the choice was a “no brainer.” They chose the Radiation Therapy Center of Morris Hospital off Route 6 on the west side of Morris.
“What an amazing service,” says Robin. “The fact that you can go to Morris Hospital’s beautiful Radiation Therapy Center with state-of-the-art equipment right in your local community is amazing. The technology they have is on par or even better than some of the large university hospitals. And all of the staff are compassionate, caring, and incredibly knowledgeable. Everything about it is fantastic.”
At the time of his diagnosis in 2022, David was not experiencing any symptoms and was living life as he normally would despite having a history of an elevated PSA level (prostate-specific antigen), a warning sign for prostate cancer.
“Throughout my life and especially in my early 50’s, I had many biopsies because of the elevated PSA, and they all came back negative,” says David. “It was a challenging time because my results were coming back negative, but I still had elevated levels that no one could explain.”
It wasn’t until Dr. Peter Tek, a urologist on the Morris Hospital Medical Staff, referred David for a specialized transperineal biopsy that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. David says in an odd way, he felt fortunate to finally have an answer despite the outcome. Now that the mystery was solved, the couple focused on getting David healthy.
After undergoing hormone therapy to reduce his PSA level, David needed to choose a location to complete the next phase of his treatment — external beam radiation therapy — which involves the use of high-energy beams to destroy cancer cells. While he could have gone anywhere, including traveling further north toward Chicago, David chose Radiation Oncologist Suzan Cheng, M.D., and the staff at the Radiation Therapy Center of Morris Hospital.
“They were fantastic from the very first time I met with them, and they made my wife and I feel comfortable and confident with the treatment,” says David. “They really make you feel like part of a family and always greeted us by first name. I don’t know that I ever felt like a patient while I was there.”
David began his radiation treatments in January 2023, receiving 25 total treatments. It was during this time that he knew with certainty that he made the right choice.
“Dr. Cheng, the staff, and the dietitians were all outstanding,” he says. “Everyone was always in a good mood. They let you choose the music you wanted to hear during treatments and the image you wanted to look at on the ceiling to help you relax. It’s the way they embrace you and make you feel like you’re at home while you’re going through one of most difficult times in your life.”
At his most recent follow up with Dr. Cheng following the final phase of his treatment that involved a type of internal radiation therapy called brachytherapy, David learned that he is officially cancer free. He and Robin are thankful they were persistent in finding the cause of David’s elevated PSA levels, and they are grateful they discovered Morris Hospital’s Radiation Therapy Center.
“David was asymptomatic for many years despite his PSA levels being so high,” says Robin. “It really shows you how important it is to go for your screenings and see your doctor because your life could depend on it.”
The Radiation Therapy Center of Morris Hospital is conveniently located 1 mile west of Morris Hospital at 1600 West U.S. Route 6 and is easily accessible from Route 6, Route 47, and Interstate 80.
To learn more, visit morrishospital.org/cancercare.
