Treating the Untreatable

Two days following his 69th birthday, Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi, distinguished theologic scholar and professor, learned he had advanced-stage colon cancer requiring immediate surgery. He later learned that the cancer had spread to the liver, infesting 90% of the organ and making his prognosis bleak. A second opinion confirmed that Dr. Bacchiocchi faced Stage 4 liver cancer, the worst possible. At that time, he was offered chemotherapy, which would only prolong his life a year, at best.

Driven to never give up, Dr. Bacchiocchi sought another opinion at the Goshen Center forCancer Care in Goshen, Indiana. Following a two-hour consultation with Dr. Seza Gulec, a pioneer in the field of nuclear oncology, Dr. Bacchiocchi learned his cancer was treatable with a combined strategy of chemotherapy and microsphere embolization – a treatment unavailable at other cancer centers. Within one month, two rounds of the innovative treatment reduced the presence of liver cancer by almost 80% and decreased total tumor volume from 2435cc to 680cc. Within two months, two more treatments reduced Dr. Bacchiocchi’s cancer by 95%.

Pushing Technology Further than Imagined

While at the Goshen Center for Cancer Care, Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi participated in an unprecedented clinical trial using the combined strategy to treat colorectal cancer that has advanced to the liver. Placed directly into the cancerous area via catheter, the microspheres deliverered 40 times more radiation directly into the tumor than conventional therapy alone, eradicating it over a period of weeks. This targeted therapy aggressively attacked the tumors, quickly reducing their size, while normal liver tissue remained relatively unaffected.

The Goshen Center for Cancer Care is one of the few treatment facilities in the world to offer this breakthrough technology primarily due to the commitment of Dr. Gulec. A world-renowned physician, Dr. Gulec has dedicated years to research and develop the combination therapy, which greatly increases survival rates in those with advanced liver cancer. He has also authored landmark publications in lymphatic mapping, sentinel node biopsy, radioguided surgery and radionuclide therapy. Dr. Gulec currently leads the endocrine surgery, hepatic oncology, molecular imaging and positron emission tomography programs at the Goshen Center for Cancer Care.

Redefining Patient-Focused

The Goshen Center for Cancer Care is home to some of the world’s most sought after cancer specialists who use groundbreaking research, state-of-the-art technology and patient-specific clinical trials to offer the most advanced treatments available anywhere. Incorporating conventional and alternative medicine, our multidisciplinary, integrated team of physicians, surgeons and specialists work together every day to provide unmatched care all under one roof. We also support our patients through a holistic approach to healing which addresses the emotional, spiritual, mental, as well as physical aspects of cancer. From relentlessly recruiting some of the brightest minds in cancer to pushing current treatments further than ever imagined, everything we do, we do for our patients.

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