Alliance for Proton Therapy Access

Survivor.  That is how Cathleen McBurney describes herself.  Thanks to access to proton beam radiation therapy for her cancer, Cathleen is a hard-working and passionate advocate for cancer patients.  Cathleen endured a 10-year misdiagnosis of severe temporomandibular disorder, commonly referred to as TMJ, and “a pinched nerve,” for pain and numbness she experienced in her jaw and the [right] side of her face.  She was repeatedly brushed off by her primary care physicians, which led to increased frustration and no remedy for her pain.  She resigned herself to living with the pain, accepting her new normal.

Cathleen’s treatment consisted of 33 proton therapy treatments (over 7 weeks) and six chemotherapy treatments, which she underwent to weaken her cells, enhancing the proton beam effectiveness.

During treatment, Cathleen did experience pain in her mouth and was unable to eat for several months during and after treatment.  She was, however, able to tolerate water and nutritional drinks with a lidocaine swish, so she lost very little weight (approximately 10 lbs.). 

Throughout her cancer journey, her family and her faith help her stay strong.  Cathleen battled cancer once again, after a metastasis to her liver this past summer.  However, she now shows no evidence of disease in either cancer site.  Today, Cathleen is a proton advocate, a volunteer, a writer (cathleenmcburney.blogspot.com), a speaker, a wife, and most importantly a mother.  And, thanks to her faith and proton therapy, she is a survivor. https://allianceforprotontherapy.org/testimonial/cathleen-mcburney