CTTC News : > New Pain Therapy Treatment Keeps Pilot Aloft
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
In March, financial advisor Dale Terwedo, 55, owner of TFS Advisors, LLC, of Edmonds, celebrated a milestone—five years cancer free. These days his risk of getting colon cancer is the same as anyone else’s.
Dale beat cancer, but there was a price. A chemotherapy drug left him with lingering, painful neuropathy in his feet and legs. Imagine the pins and needles when your foot falls asleep. Then imagine those pins and needles are burning. Imagine your feet at the end of a long hike in too small boots. “It’s like walking on exposed aggregate concrete in summer,” Dale said.
He takes a hefty dose of B vitamins to try to ease the pain and he could take medication for relief— but he won’t. “If I did, I couldn’t fly,” he said. Dale is a pilot. It’s one of his joys and it’s a way to give back. He’s an Angel Flight pilot, providing free transportation for people who need medical care. “I’ve always been an active adventurer. I try new things, see new places.”
So, when Dale’s oncologist told him about a new treatment that might cure the pain but didn’t involve drugs, he jumped on it. “I didn’t expect insurance to cover it, but I didn’t care,” he said. The Calmare® Pain Therapy Treatment uses disposable electrodes at the area of greatest pain to transmit a “no-pain” message to the nerves. It requires several daily treatments, but is painless.
“Our new Calmare® treatment is the most effective measure that I have seen in over 30 years of treating cancer patients,” said Dr. James Congdon, an oncologist with The Everett Clinic. “This non-invasive procedure has often been able to reverse painful and debilitating neuropathy symptoms and return people to pain free, productive lives. It has proven effective even for patients whose symptoms have not responded to other standard treatments.”
For some people, the pain recedes, even goes away, after a treatment or two. That wasn’t Dale’s experience but, after several treatments (12 in all), he did notice a difference. “I experienced about a 70 percent reduction of the acute pain. There’s still some numbness and stiffness,” he said. But it’s better. He can fly. He can get a good workout at his racquetball game two days a week, along with other workouts. He can put his feet under the sheets again. And, although he was prepared to pay for the treatment out of pocket, his insurance did come through.
He plans to get a booster round of treatments soon. “It was worth it. It helped,” he said.
Ask your oncologist about Calmare® for the treatment of the following issues:
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN)
Phantom limb syndrome
Sciatica
Post-surgical neuropathic pain
Low back pain
Neck pain
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)
- See more at: http://www.everettclinic.com/news/new-pain-th...BJZKA.dpuf
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
In March, financial advisor Dale Terwedo, 55, owner of TFS Advisors, LLC, of Edmonds, celebrated a milestone—five years cancer free. These days his risk of getting colon cancer is the same as anyone else’s.
Dale beat cancer, but there was a price. A chemotherapy drug left him with lingering, painful neuropathy in his feet and legs. Imagine the pins and needles when your foot falls asleep. Then imagine those pins and needles are burning. Imagine your feet at the end of a long hike in too small boots. “It’s like walking on exposed aggregate concrete in summer,” Dale said.
He takes a hefty dose of B vitamins to try to ease the pain and he could take medication for relief— but he won’t. “If I did, I couldn’t fly,” he said. Dale is a pilot. It’s one of his joys and it’s a way to give back. He’s an Angel Flight pilot, providing free transportation for people who need medical care. “I’ve always been an active adventurer. I try new things, see new places.”
So, when Dale’s oncologist told him about a new treatment that might cure the pain but didn’t involve drugs, he jumped on it. “I didn’t expect insurance to cover it, but I didn’t care,” he said. The Calmare® Pain Therapy Treatment uses disposable electrodes at the area of greatest pain to transmit a “no-pain” message to the nerves. It requires several daily treatments, but is painless.
“Our new Calmare® treatment is the most effective measure that I have seen in over 30 years of treating cancer patients,” said Dr. James Congdon, an oncologist with The Everett Clinic. “This non-invasive procedure has often been able to reverse painful and debilitating neuropathy symptoms and return people to pain free, productive lives. It has proven effective even for patients whose symptoms have not responded to other standard treatments.”
For some people, the pain recedes, even goes away, after a treatment or two. That wasn’t Dale’s experience but, after several treatments (12 in all), he did notice a difference. “I experienced about a 70 percent reduction of the acute pain. There’s still some numbness and stiffness,” he said. But it’s better. He can fly. He can get a good workout at his racquetball game two days a week, along with other workouts. He can put his feet under the sheets again. And, although he was prepared to pay for the treatment out of pocket, his insurance did come through.
He plans to get a booster round of treatments soon. “It was worth it. It helped,” he said.
Ask your oncologist about Calmare® for the treatment of the following issues:
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN)
Phantom limb syndrome
Sciatica
Post-surgical neuropathic pain
Low back pain
Neck pain
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)
- See more at: http://www.everettclinic.com/news/new-pain-th...BJZKA.dpuf
