• Prospective Patients
  • What is Proton Therapy?
  • Become a Patient for Proton Therapy
  • Bloomington Community
  • Virtual Tour of IU Health Proton Therapy Center
  • IU Health Proton Therapy Center Patient Testimonials
• Current Patients of Proton Therapy
• Former Patients of Proton Therapy
• Online Community

• Home>
• IU Health Proton Therapy Center Patient Testimonials>
• Chordoma Survivor Praises Proton Therapy Treatment

Chordoma Survivor Praises Proton Therapy Treatment

George “Dan” Webber was simply enjoying a candy bar when he suddenly realized something was wrong. He was having trouble swallowing because of what seemed like a lump at the back of his throat.
A medical examination revealed that the lump was a tumor. In March of 2008, the St. Louis Park, Minn., resident was diagnosed with chordoma, a malignant bone cancer.

Dan's potentially life-threatening chordoma developed before he was even born, when a cyst lined up on his second cervical vertebra. It grew slowly over 63 years before his ENT (ear, nose and throat specialist) diagnosed it. After undergoing surgery to remove most of the tumor, his physician recommended traditional radiation therapy to irradiate the remaining mass. However, Dan felt he couldn’t afford to take the time away from work.

With his health now stable, Dan was optimistic about his recovery.

But a year later, in June 2009, the tumor came back — along with two more.

Dan’s oncologist explained that regular radiation treatments would not be effective because of the locations of the tumors. “My wife started crying, and I thought, I’m dead,” Dan recalls.

But his doctor said, "No." He referred Dan to the IU Health Proton Therapy Center, formerly Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute (MPRI). There Dan found out about the precision of proton therapy radiation treatments. The staff at the Proton Therapy Center planned 42 treatments over nine weeks with weekends off. Location was important to Dan. As a married man with three daughters, he wanted to be as close to home as possible.

Though he was over 600 miles away, the support Dan received from his community, especially his church, made him feel close to home. Fundraisers were organized to defray his medical expenses and travel costs. One fellow church-goer and friend even paid for Dan to return to St. Louis Park for a weekend after he heard that Dan's then 17-year-old daughter was upset that her dad would miss her 18th birthday. Dan was able to surprise her by showing up at her high school’s football game.

During his treatment and time away from home, Dan said the staff at the Proton Therapy Center helped him cope with the difficult time. “They go out of their way to help you," he said. "They're kind, good people."
The doctors even took time out of their schedules to talk to Dan's daughter who was working on a school research paper about proton therapy. They even encouraged her to tour the facility, including the treatment room.

Dan also was encouraged by the staff and residents of Jill’s House, where he stayed while receiving chordoma treatments at the Proton Therapy Center. The facility is known for its spirit of community for people dealing with hardship. According to Dan, Jill's House was a place where, "we could all come together and help each other spiritually and emotionally."

It's been a while since Dan has seen that treatment room. As of June 2011, his doctors reported that he continues to be cancer free.

Now, he spends his time celebrating family members' birthdays, watching his daughter play college basketball as a starting guard, and vacationing at Cass Lake where he enjoys fishing for Bluegill and walleye.