New cutting-edge procedure offered at SENC treats serious brain tumors

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – There’s a new medical procedure available to people in southeastern North Carolina that could make a huge difference for patients with serious brain tumors. It’s called GammaTile.

A Wilmington woman is trusting the procedure as the first patient to undergo the treatment at Novant Health in southeastern North Carolina.

Christine McGeorge is a mother, wife, daughter and sister who is doing very well. She first received GammaTile surgery in June, almost three months ago.

Her doctors determined she was the perfect candidate for cutting-edge treatment after being diagnosed with glioblastoma.

“It’s a really challenging disease process to combat, and so when there are new treatments like this, they’re often reserved for patients who have failed what we call standard treatment. And then once they’ve been through all of that, you’re looking for anything you can do to benefit them,” said Dr. Jeffrey Beecher, director of neurosurgery at Novant Health in New Hanover County.

GammaTile is about the size of a postage stamp and resembles a Lego.

It is typically used when standard procedures do not work as they should. This was the case for McGeorge, whose tumors kept coming back.

A GammaTile is placed directly at the tumor site after it is removed. The radiation is then focused where the tumor is most likely to come back.

“For many of these patients, without something like the gamma block, they would reoccur,” said Dr. Tiffany Morgan, a radiation oncologist at Novant Health.

From then on, radiotherapy occurs in the course of daily life.

Both McGeorge and his neurosurgeons remained hopeful throughout the process.

“I felt like it was cancer. And then I immediately prayed, and actually I had a lot of peace. I was like, I didn’t even worry about it. I kind of already knew it was cancer. For some reason, I just felt it. And I thought, OK, I’ll get through this,” McGeorge said.

“I saw Chrissy about six weeks after surgery, and she was returning to her normal life for the most part, and we are really hopeful that this will continue to be a good long-term solution for her,” said Dr. .

Beecher and Dr. Morgan say they hope GammaTile becomes the standard of care once the technology improves.

“We hope this will lead to first-line treatment and maybe actually help us increase the quality and length of people’s lives when they have these problems. Give a young woman with a young family, and you know we are very happy to date, provide not only quantity but also quality. But also the quality of life. I’m really trying to keep this up for as long as possible,” Dr. Beecher said.

They also say that the average life expectancy of someone with glioblastoma is 16 months on average after first diagnosis and after surgery. McGeorge’s life expectancy has now risen to 24 months.