Joliet senior hoping to beat brain cancer with an electrical field

Libby Hall is a walking, talking, upbeat advertisement for Optune, a device that sends an electrical field into the cancer cells in her brain.

Hall, 75, of Joliet was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiform in 2020, and she is determined to not only beat her cancer but to also become a “poster child” for the device to give patients hope and reasons to smile, she said.

Her latest MRI on Tuesday showed no sign of cancer, said Joan Quaresima, a radiation oncology nurse at Joliet Oncology-Hematology Associates.

“Even the white scarring from the radiation looks like little speckles now,” Quaresima said. “She had no swelling in the brain and no fluid.”

Glioblastomas are rapidly growing, aggressive brain cancers. Surgery, followed by radiation and chemotherapy, are the treatment options. Even so, glioblastomas almost are impossible to cure, and glioblastomas frequently recur.

Part of the reason is because the blood-brain barrier, designed to keep harmful substances out, also doesn’t let lifesaving treatments in, according to Penn Medicine.

Glioblastomas also form “microscopic branches that can spread into different parts of the brain,” according to the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Optune, made by Novocure, also is known as Tumor Treating Fields technology. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Optune in 2011 and then again in 2015 for the second-generation Optune.

Here’s how it works: Four adhesive patches, called transducer arrays, are placed on the patient’s scalp, where the TTFields are delivered into the cancer cells, according to the Optune website. Patients typically use an oral chemotherapy called temozolomide in conjunction with the Optune device, according to the website.

However, Hall couldn’t tolerate the chemotherapy and now is using only Optune, Quaresima said. She’s curious if other patients are getting good results with just the Optune or if Hall is the only one, she said.

“If she stops wearing it, the cancer will most likely come back,” Quaresima said. “So this device is keeping her cancer-free.”

Patients wear the Optune device at least 18 hours a day, although some patients, such as Hall, elect to wear Optune around the clock, said La Keysha James, a device support specialist with Novocure. Patients may take a six-hour break every day, James said.

“Some people will take breaks if they want to go to a special event or the store and don’t want to take Optune with them,” James said. “Some people want that time to maybe go exercise.”

James said she typically gets patients started on Optune therapy in their homes and then continues to assist them through the duration. Arrays are changed twice a week, she said.

“Most patients have family members who are able to put them on for them,” James said.

Hall lives alone, so she comes to JOHA, where Quaresima reshaves Hall’s head and then replaces the arrays, Hall said. The Optune device has straps, so patients can wear it when mobile or set it next to them when they’re not, Hall said.

The Optune device runs on electricity and batteries, Hall said. She said Optune doesn’t work for everyone, and she’s thankful it’s working for her.

“I’m wearing it for life,” Hall said.

Hall said her first symptom of the glioblastoma was Nov. 11, 2020, when she walked into a door. What Hall didn’t know at the time was that the tumor had destroyed her peripheral vision on her left side.

She went to the emergency department later that day at the urging of the technician installing her new furnace when she developed a headache and blurred vision on the left side. She was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiform.

“He saved my life,” Hall said of the furnace man.

The following day, neurosurgeon Dr. Tamir Hersonskey performed surgery to remove as much tumor as possible, Quaresima said. Hall saw her medical oncologist, Dr. Nafisa Burhani, on Nov. 15, 2020, her radiation oncologist, Dr. Virag Dandekar, on Nov. 17, 2020, and started treatment in December, Quaresima said.

From Dec. 21, 2020, to Feb. 2, 2021, Hall had 30 radiation treatments to her brain along with the temozolomide, Quaresima said. Hall started Optune in March 2021, and stopped the temozolomide, she said. She’s had no further vision loss and has shrugged off the permanent loss of her peripheral vision on her left side.

Hall, a retired special education teacher, said part of education is teaching students how to adapt.

“So, that’s what I’ve done,” she said.

Hall’s subsequent six MRIs all showed no tumor growth, Quaresima said. Hall’s next MRI will be in December, Quaresima said. Hall also feels her faith, and her decision to lose 60 pounds 15 years ago is contributing to her good results.

In 2010, Hall was diagnosed with high cholesterol and started working with a personal trainer, which helped her to lose the weight. And then Hall turned to God when she was diagnosed with cancer.

“And I turned to my mom, who died when she was 93 years old,” Hall said. “Three days later, [God] came into my life. He talks to me every day, and he’s the best coach that I can ever have.”

Physical fitness still is part of Hall’s life. She walks a mile a day and lifts 10-pound weights, she said.

“I told God I’d like to live until at least 93,” Hall said.

For information, visit optune.com.