UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology APRIL 2022 - Flipbook - Page 13
UCLA RADIATION ONCOLOGY JOURNAL
specialist treating McEwen.
"They basically compressed a month of
radiation treatments into five days for me,"
he said.
"Obviously, the dramatic aspect that really
stands out in Kyle's case of colorectal
cancer is his young age," Dr. Kazanjian
said.
Ann C. Raldow, MD, a member of the
Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
and the gastrointestinal radiation
oncologist who treated McEwen, said his
treatment program involved three phases.
Doctors such as Kazanjian are searching
for an explanation as to why cases are on
the increase among younger people.
The first two phases consisted of radiation
and then chemotherapy, to shrink the
tumor and pave the way for the third phase
of surgery to successfully remove it.
"Our traditional thought that colorectal
cancers only afflict older patients is just
not the case anymore," Kazanjian said.
"What we do know is that these cancers
really don't care how young or old you
are. Kyle is pretty much on the extreme
younger end of this phenomenon.”
That added to the shock McEwen felt when
he initially was diagnosed.
Stunned by the News
"It rocked my world,” he said. “When
you are young, you just don’t think that
something this serious is going to happen
to you. It definitely makes you feel your
mortality, and my imagination kind
of ran wild with all of the disturbing
possibilities.”
Though McEwen dreaded the side effects
of radiation and chemotherapy, he was
impressed with how quickly and effectively
his treatments progressed.
"The doctors told me I would just have to
fight through it so we could kill the cancer,
so that’s what I did,” he said.
Dr. Raldow said radiation treatments have
become increasingly refined in recent
years to minimize the negative impacts on
the patient’s health while improving the
focus on killing cancer cells.
His parents were also stunned. “There was
a really long and awkward silence because
they did not know what to say,” McEwen
said.
“When I got home that day and told my
husband, I just started crying because I
had no idea what was going to happen
with all of this,” he said. “But he helped
me get through it every step of the way.
Support from your family and friends is so
priceless."
The Treatment
McEwen began his treatment at UCLA
Health in 2021. One advantage of his age
was that he could tolerate treatment better
than many older patients.
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"The radiation itself is very targeted, so
that we can radiate the cancer and spare
the healthy tissue," Dr. Raldow said. "This
technology is constantly advancing."
Sidharth R. Anand, MD, a member of the
Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center,
was the gastrointestinal medical oncologist
who treated McEwen. He said the doctors
were pleased with the outcome.
"Kyle tolerated his treatment, called ‘Total
Neoadjuvant Therapy,’ well,” Dr. Anand
said. “Though he had a lot of anxiety
around his diagnosis and treatment,
he demonstrated remarkable courage
throughout. We also involved our Simms
Mann integrative oncology team in his care
as part of a whole team effort.”