LIFE

Radiation treatment for trigeminal neuralgia available at TMH

Royal A. Shepherd
Democrat staff writer
Gene King sits in front of the Novalis TX machine TMH Cancer Center where he received treatment for trigeminal neuralgia, a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain.

For more than 10 years, 72 year-old Eugene "Gene" King has experienced severe head pain on the right side of his face, stemming from his ear, across his eye to the middle of his nose and mouth. He is one of about 45,000 people in the United States who suffer from trigeminal neuralgia —the first case to be treated with a radiation treatment at the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain. Typical symptoms are severe pains that occur with the slightest contact – anything from eating to having wind blow against your face. The condition is more common in women than men, and is more likely to occur in people over the age of 50.

"The pain can come from touching your nose, talking or brushing your teeth," King said. "The pain may last a tenth of a second or 10 seconds. It is completely debilitating."

According to Raj Bendre, Medical Director of TMH Physician Partners, Radiation Oncology Specialists, the condition has been called one of the most painful known to humankind. Bendre said Edvard Munch's oil painting "The Scream" is considered one of the most famous trigeminal neuralgia depictions.

Prior to his bout with the condition, King did lectures for the company Melaleuca. He said someone would have to accompany him when the pain would affect his presentation. King used all of the medications available trying to find relief. He said pain would come back, prompting more medication. He was offered an alternative at the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center.

"If you had a choice between someone cutting a window in the back of your head or someone shooting radiation in there, which would you take?" King said.

The procedure points a beam of radiation right around the nerve, with the goal being to whither away the blood vessels whipping the exposed nerve. Bendre said the nerve is about the size of the tip of a pin.

"We deposit the same dosage of radiation in that vicinity as we do for patients being treated for prostate cancer in one day. Prostate cancer patients get treated over eight weeks," Bendre said. "It's a very high amount of radiation. I'd say 7,500 centigrade "

The pain gradually dissipates within a week to six months. King said he is enjoying being pain-free for the first time in a decade, but not everyone shares his enthusiasm. His granddaughter was expecting "glowing" results.

"My granddaughter was disappointed. She said I could come to her birthday party if I could glow in the dark." King said. "As far a pain goes, I was a 10 before and now I am a 1. For anyone suffering from this, come to TMH. There is help."