MORGAN PARK — Dr. Jac Nickoloff will visit Morgan Park at 7 p.m. Tuesday to discuss carbon-ion radiotherapy or CIRT as an alternative treatment for certain types of cancer.
Nickoloff is a professor of cancer biology and heads the department of environmental and radiological health sciences at Colorado State University. His colleagues include Dr. Sandra Biedron and Dr. Stephen Milton of Beverly.
They build particle accelerators for applications such as medical radiotherapy and will host the discussion about the new therapy that's proven successful with aggressive cancers at their house at 10910 S. Prospect Ave., also known as the Blackwelder/Heritage House. The home was built in 1873 for Isaac and Gertrude Blackwelder.
Isaac Blackwelder was the president of the Village of Morgan Park before it was annexed into the city in 1914. His wife, Gertrude, was the first woman to cast a vote in Cook County.
As for Nickoloff, he's is visiting Chicago to give a colloquium at Fermilab and drop by several hospitals, Biedron said. Making cancer therapy more effective, more available and free are among the goals of Nickoloff and the Beverly pair.
"We presently have several slots of free therapy available today," she said.
Carbon ion radiotherapy has been used in clinical practice since 1994. There are nine facilities that use it worldwide, including five in Japan, three in Europe, and one in China, Biedron said.
Nickoloff is leading efforts to establish such a research and treatment center in Colorado. The therapy is believed to provide improved patient survival and better local tumor control.
Those interested in attending the discussion are asked to RSVP by Monday via email to biedron@engr.colostate.edu by calling 708-638-6813.
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