When William Licamele, MD, began experiencing severe chills and a high fever, he knew something was seriously wrong. A retired psychiatrist and former head of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, he suspected COVID-19 or meningitis, but didn’t wait to find out. He went straight to the emergency department at MedStar Georgetown.
Although tests ruled out both infections, William’s symptoms didn’t let up. Concerned, his care team ordered additional imaging. A CT scan revealed cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the bile ducts. After weighing several treatment options, William and his care team decided to move forward with surgery to remove the tumors. But during the operation, his surgeon discovered that the cancer had spread to both lobes of the liver, making it impossible to safely remove all affected tissue.
With curative surgery no longer an option, William’s team charted a new course of treatment: chemotherapy, including participation in a clinical trial at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. His cancer responded well, offering a hopeful turn, but his blood test cancer markers remained elevated. That’s when his care team began exploring radiation as the next step forward.
“We have a complete suite of radiation treatments, so we’re able to tailor the treatment precisely to the patient’s needs and treatment goals,” explains Keith Unger, MD, William’s radiation oncologist and the physician executive director of MedStar Health Radiation Oncology and chief of Radiation Oncology at MedStar Georgetown. “We looked at a variety of options and determined that William was a good candidate for proton therapy, which can be very effective for larger, inoperable liver tumors and spares as much normal liver tissue as possible.”
Proton therapy with HYPERSCAN™ is a highly targeted type of radiation treatment that uses protons instead of X-ray beams to target and kill cancerous cells. MedStar Georgetown is the first and most experienced proton therapy facility in the Washington, D.C., area and the first site in the world to offer the most advanced form of proton therapy.
This state-of-the-art radiation system allows physicians to treat a single layer of a tumor at a time by matching the tumor’s exact shape and size. Because the treatment is so precise, the surrounding healthy tissue receives less radiation than with standard radiation therapy. In addition to being a good option for treating liver cancer, proton therapy is also effective for tumors anywhere else in the body, including the gastrointestinal tract, breast, prostate, brain, lung, and more.
William underwent three weeks of proton therapy at MedStar Georgetown, a total of 15 treatments that each lasted 30 minutes. “Overall, it was a pretty easy experience,” says William. “Since I completed treatment, my CT scans have been stable and my cancer markers are in the normal range.” He has resumed traveling, working as a volunteer interviewer for Georgetown University undergraduate and medical schools (his alma mater), and cheering on Georgetown University’s sports teams. He’s also an avid fund raiser for BellRinger, a bike ride and community movement launched by Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center to raise money for cancer research.
“For people with advanced or complex cancer, MedStar Georgetown offers the full spectrum of medical, surgical, and radiation treatments,” says Dr. Unger. “Our multidisciplinary team meets weekly in a tumor board to consult on complex cases and find the best treatment options. We also provide second opinions for patients who have received a recommendation for conventional radiation therapy, and we are committed to seeing proton therapy patients within 48 hours.”
“I’m feeling well and am very grateful to my wife, who cared for and supported me throughout my treatment,” William says. “I’ve recommended that family members diagnosed with cancer go to MedStar Georgetown because they not only have the expertise but they also are thoughtful about their treatment recommendations and can offer access to clinical trials.”
Visit MedStarHealth.org/ProtonTherapy for more information. To schedule an appointment, call 202-444-4255.