After battling stage 4 prostate cancer for several years with surgery and radiation therapy, San Francisco teacher Don Neuwirth developed radiation cystitis, which was painful and difficult to manage. His urologist recommended hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). During HBOT, the patient is given 100 percent oxygen in a highly pressurized chamber in order to oxygenate the blood and tissues and speed the healing process.

Dignity Saint Francis Memorial Hospital's Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Program is the only hospital-based HBOT program in the city of San Francisco. Physicians throughout the Bay Area refer patients in need of treatment for conditions like diabetic ulcers of the lower extremities, necrotizing fasciitis, carbon monoxide poisoning, radiation burns, and burn injuries.

Here's Don's story.