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Part 6 – In search of the best cancer therapy option, “knowledge is power”

To Becca and Nick’s surprise, the Filipino radiologists who each had advocated their own radiation specialties — IMRT, CyberKnife and Tomotherapy — to treat 3-year-old Georgia’s cancer, had come to a consensus. Proton Therapy would be best for Georgia. Becca and Nick eagerly awaited word from specialists at a London hospital. "On October 10, Becca returned to writing in her blog, The Helping Georgia Fund: “I can research until the cows come home but we need experts who have done this procedure to tell us the options and give advice. We need someone to say I have done this... Full article

Part 4 – In the search for the best cancer therapy option, “knowledge is power”

October 7th was fast approaching for Becca and Nick. That would be the day they would learn if their daughter’s spinal tumor had shrunk in size. Since mid-June, 3-year-old Georgia had weathered round after round of chemotherapy at St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Philippines. She had endured experimental gene therapy injected directly into her tumor and intravenously. The side effects were miserable. Georgia’s continued treatment was reaching a fork in the road. Radiation therapy needed to be pursued. But which kind? Photon beams or proton beams? “…It makes my stomach... Full article

Part 3 – In the search for the best cancer therapy option, “knowledge is power”

Life was a swirl for Becca and Nick as August concluded. The ugly side effects of chemotherapy were taking a toll on Georgia, their 3-year-old daughter. Their 7-year-old son, AJ, deserved some quality attention apart from the day-to-day cancer care that consumed his parents. And they were packing up their household to move to a new neighborhood in Manila. Then, the medical team at St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Philippines surprised Becca and Nick with the choice of several radiation treatment options to continue Georgia’s care. “…We finally heard back from our... Full article

Part 2 – In the search for the best cancer therapy option, “knowledge is power”

With chemotherapy appearing to work well, last summer, Becca and Nick had mentally prepared for surgical removal of the remaining tumor on their little girl’s spine. But the medical team at St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Philippines concluded surgery would be too risky for 3-year-old Georgia. The physicians presented Becca and Nick with several radiation treatment options from which to choose. “All any parent wants is to make the right decision for their child,” Becca observed on her blog, The Helping Georgia Fund. “We don’t ever want to look back and have any regrets... Full article

Part 1 – In the search for the best cancer therapy option,“knowledge is power”

April 8th can’t come soon enough for Becca and Nick. That’s the day PET scans and an MRI will be done to see if their 3-year-old daughter’s tumor is gone. The scans will be conducted at St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Philippines where Georgia undergoes chemotherapy. They’ll be evaluated by her medical team in Manila and her proton therapy team some 1,600 miles away in Seoul, Korea, at the National Cancer Center’s Proton Therapy Center. Diagnosed with an aggressive tumor on her lower spine just days after her birthday last June, Georgia received proton beam treatments at... Full article

From a little girl, one Christmas wish

Georgia Halliwell-Paget smiles with members of her proton therapy team moments before undergoing her 23rd proton treatment at the National Cancer Center in Seoul, Korea.
From a little girl, just one Christmas wish. It’s Christmas. Not at home in Manila. But 1,600 miles away in Seoul, Korea. And 3-year-old Georgia Halliwell-Paget has just one wish for Santa. “She wants her owie to go away,” said her dad, Nick. “We told her it won’t happen this Christmas. But hopefully, next Christmas.” Diagnosed with an aggressive tumor on her lower spine days after her birthday in... Full article