Kate’s Story

Our whole society is so quick to give you a pill to fix things. That’s not always the best thing,” says Kate Stewart, a cancer patient who doesn’t want to put any more drugs into her body than absolutely necessary.

In October 2019, Kate traveled to the Cleveland Clinic for chemotherapy to treat cancer found in her kidney. She felt blindsided six weeks later when she woke up unable to feel her feet. She says, “They didn’t warn me at all about the possibility of neuropathy.” Peripheral neuropathy affects 30- 40% of chemotherapy patients and is a frequent side effect of neurotoxic chemotherapy drugs.

Seeking more natural solutions to the numbness in her feet, Kate initially tried acupuncture which helped mitigate the pain but didn’t cure it.

After cancer spread to her lungs, she went for a second round of chemotherapy. This time she had numbness in both her hands and feet, along with pain and tingling.

Neuropathy was a huge hit to her quality of life. “Everything becomes dangerous,” says Kate. The neuropathy in her feet made it difficult to walk, and she would lose her balance. She needed help getting into the shower and could no longer take the stairs. Without sensation in her hands and feet, she found it unsafe to drive a car. Kate had previously a very active outdoor lifestyle, but she could no longer enjoy her favorite activities, such as horseback riding, kayaking, crosscountry skiing, and walking her dogs.

It was a co-worker who told her about the RealWave®  Neuropathy Treatment Center opening in Michigan. She remembers her first appointment well and gets excited talking about it. She says it was “Really cool. You go in, and the staff explains everything. They do the mapping… and you can see the actual nerve damage and how extensive it is.”

Kate’s treatment plan included going twice a week for RealWave®  ultrasound and RealPulse treatments. She describes the RealWave®  ultrasound treatment as feeling good immediately and likened it to an “electronic hand massage.”

It took her longer to feel the effects of the RealPulse treatment, which uses a form of low-wave mechanical energy to increase blood flow to the affected area. It can be beneficial for patients experiencing ongoing numbness, poor circulation, or non-healing wounds. After a few treatments, her numbness began to recede, and the nerves started to wake up. “Something was happening,” she says, “It was working.”

After her second visit to RealWave® , her pain was gone entirely. She has recently transitioned to once-a-week treatments to keep the numbness and tingling in check while undergoing chemotherapy.

After just seven treatments on both her hands and feet, she says she is 100% back to her active lifestyle and all her outdoor activities.

Kate says, “Finding this has been wonderful. You’re not putting any chemicals in yourself. It’s all external, it’s outside, and it works.” She adds, “It’s easy and convenient. You walk in for your appointment at 9 a.m., by 9:02 a.m. you are getting your treatment, and by 9:25 a.m. you are walking back out the door.”

Enthusiastic about her experience, Kate brings RealWave®  brochures to chemotherapy to share with other patients seated in the treatment room.

Kate says, “This purely works on the actual problem. It goes to the nerve, and it works on fixing the nerve.