When longtime Medford resident Bill Lonergan planned a family vacation to Ireland in 2024, he envisioned rolling green hills, not rolling through the airport in a wheelchair.
“The arthritis pain in my hip was excruciating,” said Lonergan, a U.S. Marine veteran and retired Massachusetts State Police Trooper. “I could barely walk.”
Active throughout his life, Lonergan was sidelined by worsening hip pain due to osteoarthritis. Treatments like over-the-counter medications and physical therapy didn’t help. A cortisone injection offered no relief. And while doctors agreed he didn’t yet need a hip replacement, that option felt like a last resort with a long recovery.
But a follow-up appointment with a familiar doctor changed everything.
During a routine check-in with Phillip Gray, MD, Chief of Radiation Oncology at MelroseWakefield Hospital, and the physician who had treated Lonergan’s earlier cancer, Lonergan mentioned his debilitating hip pain. Dr. Gray’s response was unexpected: what if radiation therapy could help?
“This isn’t new,” said Dr. Gray. “Radiation therapy for arthritis was common decades ago and is still widely used in Europe. What’s new is the volume of research proving how well it works.”
Intrigued by recent European studies and decades of data showing its safety and effectiveness, Dr. Gray had been exploring ways to bring this unconventional but promising treatment to MelroseWakefield Hospital. Lonergan, he believed, was the perfect candidate to help launch the program.
The treatment uses ultra-low doses of targeted radiation, about 20 times lower than what’s used in cancer treatments. It’s painless, it’s an outpatient procedure, it’s been covered by insurance and has virtually no side effects. Unlike cancer radiation, which aims to kill cells, this therapy uses focused, minimal doses to reduce inflammation and pain in a specific joint.
This type of arthritis—osteoarthritis—is very localized. That’s what makes it such a good fit for radiation oncology. We can precisely target the affected area.
Dr. Phillip Gray, Chief of Raditation Oncology at MelroseWakefield Hospital
Lonergan agreed to give it a try. After just two of the six scheduled 10-minute sessions, the results were dramatic.
“The pain relief was almost immediate,” he said.
Radiation for arthritis fell out of favor in the U.S. in the 1970s and 80s as new drugs and surgical procedures took center stage. But it remained a trusted standard in Europe. Today, with growing interest and scientific backing, doctors like Dr. Gray are revisiting this older method as a new option for patients who’ve exhausted more conventional therapies.
“We’re not saying this should be a first-line treatment,” said Dr. Gray. “But for those who’ve tried medications, physical therapy and injections without relief, this could be a meaningful solution.”
Studies have shown that the relief from radiation therapy for osteoarthritis can last up to two years. Importantly, serious long-term effects, like radiation-associated cancers, have not been observed in these low-dose treatments, even in large European studies.
As for Lonergan, he’s grateful to be back on his feet and looking forward to future travels without the wheelchair.
“I just wanted to enjoy my life again,” he said one day recently after finishing 18 holes of golf. “Thanks to this treatment, I can.”
