PAT I E N T S U CC E S S S TO RY
Beatrice rural firefighter benefits from advanced cancer treatment that’s close to home
D
ustin McQuigg, assistant chief of the Beatrice Rural Fire Department, and his wife Tiffany, an emergency medical technician, are very experienced in helping people with urgent medical problems and life-threatening situations. In August, 2020, the McQuiggs confronted a crisis of their own. Their ordeal began when Dustin, 35, became dizzy at work at Butler Agricultural Equipment in Pickrell. The big man fell hard, hitting his head on the concrete floor. Dustin’s co-workers quickly took him to Beatrice Community Hospital, where doctors ran the first of many tests. Among those were brain imaging scans at Beatrice and more scans later at Bryan Medical Center, which showed something unusual — a dark spot — which suggested there may be a brain tumor.
in Texas, where surgeons removed 80 percent of a tumor, which cellular testing confirmed as a rare type of brain cancer called astrocytoma.
Dustin was able to return to Nebraska for the second phase of treatment. The portion of his tumor that couldn’t be removed surgically could be treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy by physicians at Cancer Partners of Nebraska (formerly known as Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center), right here in Lincoln.
Tumor confirmed Dustin was then seen by Neurosurgeon Steven Gogela, MD, of Neurological and Spinal Surgery. Additional testing found Dr. Joseph Kam Chiu, left, used The Edge radiosurgery tool, Dustin indeed had a brain tumor. and Dr. Scott McHam provided chemotherapy treatments to As the first phase of Dustin’s treatment, Dr. Gogela referred him treat Dustin McQuigg’s brain tumor. to MD Anderson Cancer Center This story is brought to you by Mapes Industries. 26 Summer 2021
Radiation therapy next Dustin’s radiation therapy was provided at Bryan Pine Lake Campus by radiation oncologist Joseph Kam Chiu, MD, of Cancer Partners. Dr. Chiu used a technical advancement called The Edge, a linear accelerator radiosurgery tool from Varian Medical Systems that treats brain tumors and other cancers without anesthesia, incision or hospitalization. This instrument provides radiation treatments with extreme precision, so there’s less radiation exposure to healthy tissue, and side effects are minimized. The Edge is the most sophisticated of the current generation of linear accelerators. As such, it is another important medical advancement available in Lincoln that allows patients to stay near their homes and
