Oxygen, a simple molecule surrounding us in daily life, is becoming
a mainstream treatment following radiation therapy. Patients who
have undergone radiation therapy can experience benefits of
breathing 100% oxygen at pressures greater than atmospheric. This
treatment is known as hyperbaric oxygen and is indicated to treat a
handful of existing disease conditions.
“Radiation therapy does a very good thing–it kills cancer cells. But
it also damages the tiny blood vessels that feed the cells,” said
Dr. Farris Gulli, medical director at the Hyperbaric Medicine Center
at the Beaumont Health System in Michigan, in a news report. “About
five to fifteen percent of cancer patients can experience chronic
complications from radiation therapy.”
Dr. Gulli can treat up to twelve patients at a time with the
hyperbaric chamber. More than 1,800 hospitals nationwide offer
hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and another 500 non-hospital based
programs offer treatment.
Health Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
The use of hyperbaric oxygen has shifted from treating “the bends”
in scuba divers to treating damaged cells and tissues following
radiation therapy. “Hyperbaric medicine is an incredibly powerful
tool,” explained Dr. Jeffrey Niezgoda, President of the American
College of Hyperbaric Medicine. “It can be as helpful and
therapeutic as a surgical scalpel in the right patient for the right
indication. We’re seeing a risk in specialized wound and hyperbaric
centers across the United States.
For example, bladder cancer survivors can often experience bladder
problems as a result of high doses of radiation to the pelvis. “In
these cases, the lining of the bladder becomes damaged because of
the lack of blood flow,” said Dr. Gulli. “The damage can lead to
blood in the urine which could require blood transfusions. But with
hyperbaric oxygen therapy, we grow new capillaries and the bleeding
stops in a significant portion of or patients.”
Breast cancer survivors and survivors of head and neck cancers are
also within the population who have conditions approved to be
addressed by hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Thirteen conditions are
approved, but some individuals believe hyperbaric oxygen therapy is
a cure-all. However, according to Dr. Timothy Manoni, medical
director of the Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center at Stamford
Hospital in Connecticut “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not the magic
bullet.”
Indeed, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and many other
conditions have not been explored in great depth to identify
benefits or risks of treatment. Off-label uses are frowned upon by
the Food and Drug Administration, and off-label users and
administers must be cautious in their use of the equipment.
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