The Beam: Takeaways from NAPT conference, redesigned playroom opens, meet proton registered dietitian

Staff share takeaways from the 2025 NAPT conference

Several Fred Hutch Cancer Center – Proton Therapy team members including  Medical Director Annemarie Shepherd, MD, traveled to Philadelphia for the National Association for Proton Therapy (NAPT) National Conference in April. The conference topics included emerging research and operational strategies and also focused on insurance challenges.

Ian Rice, patient navigator lead, led a presentation on the NASA-inspired program pioneered at Fred Hutch. 

“It was a lot of fun to present. It’s a feel-good story: a program designed to ease fear and anxiety, helping people get through treatment,” said Rice. “I had a lot of people coming up, interested in the program, starting the conversation about how it could work at their centers. I’m doing follow-up presentations with NAPT and several top cancer centers to keep growing this program.”

Rice emphasized that MISSION: All Systems GO! is a scalable program, designed from start to finish with patients in mind.

“I learned how important it is to show these growth opportunities to other centers,” said Rice. “It can inspire others to join in and help out. When we share ideas, information and strategies in a collaborative way, everyone benefits. This program isn’t finished — it’s still growing and evolving and will look different at other centers. But the core of it will make a big difference in patient experience.”

Sharing new ideas, methods and best practices in proton therapy makes the conference valuable to attendees.

“It was good to network with people from other centers to learn how they are using their fixed beam and incline beam rooms,” said Shepherd. “I was especially interested in the presentation on using the fixed beam to treat the cranio-spinal region for leptomeningeal disease. That’s something that I would like to explore here [at Fred Hutch].”

Shepherd was also able to brainstorm with other providers on potential clinical trials for thymoma and kidney cancer patients and listened to the latest finding that proton therapy shows promise of advantages for patients with head and neck, esophageal and central nervous system tumors.

“Dr. Stephen Frank from MD Anderson presented data from a clinical trial showing lower dependence on feeding tubes in the patients treated with protons compared to IMRT [intensity modulated radiation therapy] for head and neck cancers,” she said.

Fred Hutch radiation therapists, Katelyn Grozelle and Terry Prescott, learned about new technology offerings at the conference, including the use of artificial intelligence in medicine. Incorporating AI into the workflow allows physicians to focus on complex cancer cases.

“They can use it to contour organs at risk during dosimetry planning, which reduces the time needed to create a custom plan,” said Prescott. “Over time, the AI learns preferences and can adapt, making it more efficient.”

However, human oversight is always needed.

Grozelle and Prescott also learned about advances in FLASH technology, which is currently being studied at Fred Hutch’s proton therapy center.  FLASH radiation therapy uses ultra-high-speed radiation (which gives radiation 100 to 1000 times faster than usual) to decrease toxicity from radiation treatment. Only a few institutions are able to conduct this research because of the technical expertise required.

“I was especially interested to see what’s inside the treatment nozzle,” Prescott said. “Seeing this has made me better understand the process and strengthened my knowledge on the subject.”

Grozelle added how technology is always changing and advancing.  

“It was exciting to see the custom devices Penn has made for their FLASH treatments. They currently use it to treat cancer in dogs,” she said. “The next step will be a clinical trial using FLASH to treat head and neck cancer patients.”

Because the University of Pennsylvania uses the same cyclotron vendor as Fred Hutch, Grozelle also met with her colleagues to discuss best practices during a site visit.

“We were able to see their gantry rooms and ask questions about workflow and setups. They also use cone beam CT, something we are currently installing in our gantry,” she said. “I was able to ask the therapists for any feedback they had using this type of imaging.”

For the Fred Hutch proton therapy team, the conference provided a meaningful opportunity to engage with the broader proton therapy community and exchange innovative ideas, techniques and best practices aimed at advancing patient care. 

Redesigned playroom has lasting impact for young patients

For many years, the proton therapy facility had a playroom off the lobby where pediatric and young patients could enjoy a book, watch a movie or play with toys.

The space closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the facility’s program department coordinator, Chris Bodewell, recently reenvisioned the space with his business school classmates as part of a school requirement to give back to the community. 

Bodewell, who has worked at the proton therapy facility for six years, will graduate from Central Washington University’s Business Administration Program in June with a specialization in leadership and management. As a capstone project, Bodewell had to design something that would positively impact many people while also creating a sustainable element that would live on afterward.

“We brainstormed as a team and came up with the idea to update and reopen the playroom here at the proton therapy facility,” said Bodewell. 

Bodewell and his classmates wanted to revive the space so that young patients and their caregivers would have a dedicated place to unwind. They consulted with managers of the nursing, radiation therapy and facilities teams, as well as patient navigators and child life specialists.

“They had ideas about what they thought would be appropriate, including medical toys and space-themed materials to complement our NASA-inspired MISSION: All Systems GO! room,” said Bodewell. “But we also had to be mindful of health and safety measures — everything has to be easily disinfected, for instance.”

The team repainted the walls, purchased new toys, built new cabinets with doors and updated the entertainment system. Now patients have access to stream movies and can play video games, the latter thanks to a generous donation from Nintendo.

To raise funds for the new space, the team created a GoFundMe account and asked their community networks for donations. They worked with local libraries to obtain book donations. Bodewell’s classmate, Morri Stewart, also held a fundraiser at the Dairy Queen she manages. With donor support, they were able to purchase many of the items on their wish list — and they’re still accepting donations to keep updating the toys.

The space is now fully open. Please visit the playroom the next time you’re at the facility.

Meet Laura Martinell, registered dietitian and columnist for The Beam

Laura Martinell, RD, CSO, is a registered dietitian with Fred Hutch. She spends half her work week at the proton therapy facility and the other half at Fred Hutch at UW Medical Center – Northwest. 

As an oncology dietitian, she assesses patients’ nutritional needs and provides counseling and support for treatment-related symptoms of chemotherapy and radiation. She also addresses specific cancer-related issues such as bowel changes, nausea, taste changes, loss of appetite and loss of muscle mass. She works with the oncology care team to ensure a comprehensive approach to treatment and writes a quarterly nutritional column for The Beam.

“Finding out you have cancer is always difficult, and treatment can be tough,” she said. “I am committed to helping my patients navigate the many effects of treatment that impact their nutrition and offer individualized care, keeping in mind their personal preferences. I really enjoy getting to know my patients.”

Martinell earned a bachelor’s degree in food and nutritional science/dietetics at Seattle Pacific University and completed a one-year internship through Washington State University before starting her first job as a critical care dietitian. She worked in an ICU setting for several years before starting in oncology 17 years ago. 

“After several years working in a hospital, I was ready for a change,” she said. “I remember driving by Seattle Cancer Care Alliance — now Fred Hutch — and having this feeling that I wanted to work there. Eventually, I worked at several different Fred Hutch clinics, including the gastrointestinal, pancreatic and bone marrow transplant units. I’ve landed at the proton and Northwest clinics, and I love it! The teams I work with are amazing, and I enjoy working with patients.”

Born to Italian parents in Los Angeles, Martinell has spent most of her life in the Pacific Northwest. She loves to cook, and while Italian food is what she does best, she loves recipes from all cuisines. 

“Feeding people makes me happy,” she said. “I love to cook for my family and friends. I recently got married and now have three wonderful stepchildren. My new family brings me so much joy.”

She also enjoys travel and has visited France, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Iceland, Ireland, Colombia, Mexico, Bora Bora and Italy.

“My husband and I are Swifties and have seen the Eras Tour three times — in Seattle, Los Angeles and Dublin, Ireland,” said Martinell of attending Taylor Swift’s latest tour. “We love going to concerts and sometimes hop on a plane to see our favorite artists. I’m still a teeny bopper at heart, and we’re going to Las Vegas this summer to see the New Kids on the Block.”

Please say hi to Martinell the next time you have a consultation with her.

If you have a question for Martinell that you would like her to cover in her nutrition column, please email info.proton@fredhutch.org. 

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