Eric Curry didn’t sign up for a grand drama. Living semi-retired in Sarasota, Florida after years in Nashville, Tennessee, he figured the worst of his troubles in 2022 would be the nagging stomach pain that sent him to a GI specialist. “Mild GERD,” they said, handing him prescriptions for acid reflux. But the pain didn’t care about their diagnosis—it grew, relentless, until May 2023, when an ER visit dropped the real bombshell: stomach cancer, stage two. By the time he got to Moffitt Cancer Center, it was stage four, a spreading menace with a grim forecast. That’s when Eric took the reins, hunting for a fight that fit his life—not the other way around. Verthermia became his answer, and his story shines a light on our mission to rethink cancer care.
Eric’s first stab at treatment was chemotherapy—two hours in the clinic, 46 hours tethered to a bag at home, every two weeks. It was a grind, and when the cancer crept from his stomach to the peritoneal wall, that first-line treatment fizzled out. A second-line chemo followed, but he wasn’t about to let his days dissolve into endless recovery loops. He’d already ditched processed foods, leaning into natural options to starve the cancer’s growth. It slowed, but didn’t stop. Then a healthcare finance acquaintance tossed him a lifeline: a link to First Baptist Medical Center Dallas and the concept of heat therapy. That led him to Verthermia, where we’re proving cancer can be fought without breaking the fighter.
Our HEATTO whole-body hyperthermia treatment uses heat to zero in on cancer cells, hitting them where they’re weak while sparing the body’s strength. For Eric, it was a gamble worth taking. “I’d spoken to a thousand people without blinking,” he says, “but this? The anxiety was real.” Unknowns piled up—would it work, was it worth the cost? He wrestled with second thoughts, then dove in. What he found was beyond expectation: a team that didn’t just treat him but stood by him. “The doctors are pros,” he says. “Honest, no false promises.” From those first phone calls with Dr. Zwisch and Dr. Vertrees to the warm, seasoned staff, Eric felt the weight lift.
Verthermia’s mission isn’t just about heat—it’s about heart. Our facility, pristine and spacious, welcomed Eric and his wife with open arms—big rooms, a living area for a breather, and a 24-hour nurse who never flinched, whether fetching water or easing his nerves. “They don’t make you feel like a burden,” he says, still struck by it. That’s us in a nutshell: innovation wrapped in care. Before Verthermia, Eric’s life expectancy was a fading line; now, he’s banking on pushing our success rate higher. Chemo’s three-to-four-day recoveries every cycle? “It’s your body doing the work,” he explains, “not just chemicals. It heals faster.”
Eric’s search for something better mirrors what drives Verthermia: giving patients a way to fight that feels like living, not just surviving. As we advance FDA trials and hone our approach, his story fuels us—to keep cancer from dictating the terms, to keep hope in the driver’s seat. Curious? Check out verthermia.com. Eric found his fight; we’re here to help you find yours.