Young Montgomery brain cancer patient thankful for CDH proton center in Warrenville

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April Adamo said son Isaac has received a lot of support from people he doesn't even know, and getting the cards, letters and pictures really brighten his day. Jane Donahue/For Sun-Times Media/Beacon News

Updated: November 30, 2011 12:41AM

Isaac Parris is a typical 6-year-old boy who loves to ride his bike, build with Legos and play with his bulldog Harley. But this summer, life became anything but typical when the Montgomery boy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

“Nothing can prepare you for this,” said Isaac’s mom, April Adamo. “It was like you see in a movie. We were at the hospital, Isaac was drawing a picture and having a popsicle, and his pediatrician came in and told me to sit down.”

After weeks of headaches and visits to the pediatrician, chiropractor and emergency room, Isaac was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor found in children. Two days later, on June 24, the tumor was successfully removed at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

“Our doctor told us if Isaac had to get a tumor, this is the kind you would want,” his mom said. “She said your life will never be the same, but I still didn’t get it. I wasn’t thinking about cancer.”

As part of his treatment, Isaac received chemotherapy and an advanced type of radiation treatment called proton therapy at the CDH Proton Center, a ProCure Center. Opened just a year ago, the Warrenville facility is one of only nine proton treatment centers in the country.

Dr. John Chang, radiation oncologist and director of research at Central DuPage Hospital’s Proton Center, said because Isaac’s tumor was in the cerebellum, radiation to the back part of the brain and the spine was necessary. And, because proton therapy targets tumors precisely, it was the ideal choice for his patient.

“Protons have the ability to stop where you want them to stop, as opposed to coming from the back and exiting in the front,” Chang said. “When we treat the spine, there is no exposure to the heart, the esophagus, the stomach, the intestines and the lungs. All those organs would have some sort of exposure in regular radiation treatments.”

For six weeks, Isaac received proton therapy each day. Chang said the opening of the CDH Proton Center is a great benefit to, not only Isaac’s family, but many other families throughout the Chicago area.

“In the past, I would send patients to Florida or Boston for treatment,” Chang said. “These people would have to uproot their lives — parents who have to work can’t — and they would be away from their family and friends during treatment.

“The treatment every day is obviously important, but their environment on a day-to-day basis is important for their mental and emotional health as well.”

Like any parent, Adamo said she would travel anywhere to seek the best treatment for her son, but having it close to home has been a “blessing.”

“I cannot stress enough how much we loved the (CDH) Proton Center,” Adamo said. “They were truly amazing. Yes, these people were saving Isaac’s life, but they were doing so much more than that. From Dr. Chang, to all the nurses and the receptionist that greeted us every day at 6:30 a.m., this is not a job to these people.”

Next month, Isaac will begin a round of chemotherapy. But for now, he is just a busy first-grader who is happy to go to school and play outside.

“We don’t take anything for granted,” his mom said. “We truly try to live. Things that used to upset us aren’t a big deal anymore. Life is way too short to try to control everything.”