Cleopatra, a black and white Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with placid brown eyes, settled into the man’s lap.
Joe Brunk ran his hand over the dog’s head. The motion was gentle, relaxed and calm. After going through a radiation session to treat his brain cancer earlier that morning, the simple act of petting a dog was cathartic.
“I feel calmer. I do think there is a soothing aspect to it,” he said.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryBrunk is one of four patients who have signed up for an experimental study at IU Health Neuroscience Center testing whether therapy dogs can improve the quality of life of brain cancer patients. Participants spend about 10 minutes with Cleopatra in a quiet, darkened room, while video cameras record the sessions.
Organizers will observe the medical benefits of therapy dogs, and do a quality-of-life assessment based on a patient’s facial expressions. The portraits of all participants will be part of a public art exhibition depicting how brain cancer affects lives.
“I treat patients with some of the worst types of brain tumors, where their quality of life is really impaired,” said Dr. Mahua Dey, a neurosurgeon for IU Health Methodist Hospital. “Science-wise, we’re working on it to try to find a cure for these tumors. But we don’t have it yet. I feel their pain and their families’ pain, so if we can make a particular patient’s quality of life a little better, that was the goal.”
The project is called “Bridging the Gap,” and is a partnership between Dey and Stefan Petranek, an artist and professor of photography at IUPUI Herron School of Art and Design.
Funded through an Indiana University grant supporting groundbreaking research in the arts and humanities, the study is broken into three distinct prongs.
The first aspect gauges how patients feel before and after interacting with a therapy dog.
“We all know that having pets makes our life better, but there is no objective proof that it does. We want to know, how does it affect your life?” Dey said. “We’re trying to identify if there is a difference in having that influence.”
Using objective criteria analyzing patients’ facial expressions throughout the therapy sessions, Dey and her team will also determine if certain measures can help health care providers learn more about a patient’s mood, pain level and other quality of life indicators.
“We have to use quality-of-life questionnaires to see how these patients are doing over time,” Dey said. “With brain tumors, sometimes you can have cognitive deficits, you can have speech deficits, it’s not easy for people to fill out questionnaires. We’re trying to see if we can use their facial expressions to see how they’re doing over time.”
Finally, Petranek will take slow-motion video and audio responses from the participants to create a public art exhibition about their experience.
Though he’s a professor of photography and intermedia at IUPUI, Petranek also has a bachelor’s degree in biology. Much of his work revolves around the intersections of life and science, and how science influences our culture of perception of nature and humanity.
From his perspective as an artist, the study is a chance to further reveal cancer patients more fully.
“It will tell the human side of what it means to bear the burden of a disease such as brain cancer or a brain tumor,” he said. “I think there are a lot of times where our society doesn’t necessarily think too much about difficult topics such as this. These patients have a wealth of emotional knowledge to tell us.”
Dey and Petranek have just started signing up the first patients for the study, including Brunk.
The Franklin Township resident was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor known as glioblastoma in late October. He had not experienced any major symptoms or signs that anything was wrong, only the occasional headache.
But during a trip to Las Vegas, he suddenly experienced what seemed like a minor headache that escalated into intense, unbearable pain in a matter of minutes. He was rushed to the hospital, where emergency surgery uncovered bleeding on the brain.
That surgery also revealed the tumor, an aggressive form of cancer. Returning to Indianapolis, he was referred to Dey to perform surgery to remove it.
Following the surgery, Brunk told Dey that if there was anything he could ever do to help her, he would. She suggested taking part in the study.
“It seems like a great idea,” he said. “The first night I met her, she told me her theory was that the world would be a better place if we all did nice things for each other. We agreed, and I said if there was anything I could ever do to repay you or help, I’m in.”
Brunk will go through 30 rounds of radiation to further treat his cancer, and is taking chemotherapy as part of a drug trial in Chicago. He finished up his sixth treatment the morning of Dec. 20 before sitting down for the first therapy session with Cleopatra.
“It was good. Calming,” he said. “We’ve got a 80- or 90-pound golden-doodle at home who’s not as good, so this is completely different.”
The goal is to get at least 50 patients to take part. Anyone who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor is eligible to participate, as long as they are open to spending approximately 10 minutes with a therapy dog, having their photo taken and being on video.
Early on in the process, the challenge has been letting the limited pool of potential applicants know that they can sign up.
“I’m hoping that as the knowledge of this spreads, we’ll also have people wanting to participate in the study,” Petranek said. “Anyone in the Indiana region and beyond is welcome to come and participate.”
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Bridging the Gap study
What: The study at the IU Health Neuroscience Center will examine patients who are being treated for brain tumors to find out if 10 minutes spent interacting with a therapy dog can help improve their quality of life. The research will also analyze if health care providers can determine quality of life through facial expressions.
Who: Led by Dr. Mahua Dey, a neurosurgeon with IU Health Methodist Hospital, and Stefan Petranek, artist and professor of photography at IUPUI Herron School of Art and Design.
Number of patients involved: Organizers are looking for 50 people to take part.
Who can take part? The study is open to anyone who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, whether they are an IU Health patient or not.
What do they have to do? Individuals will be asked to do the following:
- Spend approximately 10 minutes with a therapy dog
- Fill out two brief questionnaires – one before the experience and one immediately afterwards.
- Agree to have their photo/video taken for the project
How to get involved: Research volunteers are still needed and can sign up by contacting 317-396-1286
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