Jorge Martinez Badia, as was usual, woke up early. He works at a school where he helps children cross the street in the morning and in the afternoon. It seems like such a long time ago that it’s hard for him to remember when it happened that, he got a sharp pain in his arm, which made it necessary for him to visit his primary care physician. He was prescribed ibuprofen to relieve the pain of the suspected arthritis that seemed to be progressing because of age. After he ran out of his prescription, the pain abruptly returned. The doctor suggested a chest x-ray. As Jorge waited to get tests done, out of nowhere at work, he started coughing. A rough cough where he expelled blood. Frightened, he immediately went to the ER of the nearest hospital.
After several tests, including a "capsule endoscopy" (whereby one swallows a small camera that takes pictures of your digestive system) and a "fine needle aspiration biopsy" of the lungs (where cells are removed from the affected organ to be analyzed), Martinez Badia was diagnosed with lung cancer. The second of tests had come back as “positive”.
During 30 sessions, Jorge fought cancer with chemotherapy and the latest technology on targeted radiation, concurrently. He was able to drive himself to the treatments and continued with his everyday activities. He was also able to take two trips to Spain during this treatment time, and he now says happily – "I was really scared at the time of diagnosis, but today my cancer has virtually disappeared. I’m speechless when it comes to thank Dr. Amendola" – Jorge says with watery eyes."Cigarette consumption is the highest risk factor, and is the cause of 22% of global deaths from cancer in general, and 71% of global deaths from lung cancer" affirms Dr. Beatriz Amendola – who designed the treatment for Mr. Martinez Badia – “But also you can’t forget the genetic factors. If a patient has family history with lung cancer, he or she should ask a doctor to get specific checkups for early detection” – finalizes Dr. Amendola.
Jorge Martinez Badia is grateful to Dr. Amendola, for the treatment he received at the Innovative Cancer Institute in South Miami. He appreciates having had access to the latest technology in radiation, which allowed ICI to treat only the affected tissue assuring a faster and more effective
recovery, without side effects and having been able to continue with his daily life and work activities.
Dr. Beatriz Amendola is a world renowned Radio-Oncologist who educates colleagues all over the world. She predicts that the improved advanced technology is cost-effective, providing the best treatment possible to the patients.
Technology helping patients
Dr. Amendola and the oncology staff at ICI, have extensive experience in the treatment of lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. In a large number of patients radiotherapy is an excellent choice to achieve local control and in some cases complete resolution of the disease using modern technologies, such as three dimensional (3-D), intensity modulated radiation (IMRT) and four-dimensional (4-D) computed tomography Imaged Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT). The ICI team can configure a precise and effective treatment plan that will account for tumor movement and protect nearby normal structures reducing toxicity.
Advances in our field are also revolutionizing the way our patients are treated. IMRT, IGRT and RapidArc™ allow for optimal treatment delivery in less time. In the case of RapidArc™ treatment is usually completed in less than two minutes; a fraction of the time it takes to deliver conventional radiation therapy treatments in a similar case.
