New device keeps cancer at bay

James Bell received devastating news on April 4, 2010. The 61-year-old Waimea resident was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, and was scheduled for surgery to remove the tumors the following day.

"One day I just couldn’t get up. I thought my diabetes was causing the problem. I wasn’t expecting this," Bell said.

Although he had none of the classic symptoms, which include headaches and seizures, the odds were not in Bell’s favor. Less than 5 percent of patients diagnosed with GBM survive five years, according to the Central Brain Tumor Registry. The outlook is about 14 months.

Doctors removed what they could, and Bell endured chemotherapy and radiation treatments to manage the remaining cancer before applying for a clinical trial at Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital at the University of Southern California.

About a month before the trial began, Bell retired from his position as a mechanical engineer at Mauna Kea Observatories on Hawaii island to focus on his treatment.

USC neurosurgeon Dr. Thomas Chen said Bell has been responding well to the trial treatment. The trial uses a portable device, the NovoTTF-100A, to deliver low-intensity electrical currents that disrupt rapid cell division of cancer cells through electrodes placed on the scalp. Made by an Israeli company, Novocure, the device is a noninvasive alternative treatment that has been shown to prolong life as long as chemotherapy treatments, with fewer side effects, Chen said.

Bell celebrated his first anniversary on the device last July.

"His disease is now stable," Chen said. "We would expect someone with his disease to get progressively worse, but neurologically he’s doing very well. He’s living like a normal person."

"With this new therapy, his cancer can’t grow and his tumors are getting smaller," said Celeste, Bell’s wife. "He still takes chemo pills to deal with the tumors that the surgeons were unable to remove," she added.

Since Bell entered the trial, Novocure received FDA approval in April 2011 to treat patients with recurrent tumors. The device was introduced to the market late last year at select facilities.

Bell continues to wear the 10-pound, battery-operated device a minimum of 19 hours each day. It doesn’t stop him from participating in some of his favorite activities, though. Bell is able to swim regularly and enjoys gardening.

Prior to his diagnosis, Bell was a competitive swimmer. Although his speed has slowed, he is still able to get in the water three times per week. "I’d be lost if I couldn’t go swimming," he said.

The electrode pads need to be changed every few days and are removed completely while swimming.

Bell’s wife, a kindergarten teacher, and their 33-year-old son, Richard, an engineer who moved from California to stay at home with his dad, helped him through the course of treatment.

Richard continues to accompany his father to California for checkups. "Things would be a lot more difficult without him," Bell said.

The pair travels to USC about once a month for MRI scans to check Bell’s progress.

Bell noted that the weight and necessity of wearing the device does wear him out sometimes, but it’s worth the inconvenience.

"It’s keeping me alive," he said. "And that’s what really matters."

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“Be Well” features inspiring stories of people dealing with health challenges. Reach Nancy Arcayna at narcayna@staradvertiser.com or call 529-4808.