Terry Stephan, 88, is 2nd vice president of the Auxiliary of Memorial Hospital at Easton, the group that provides support for University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton and its patient care programs. In this role, Stephan manages volunteer recruitment and training for the Auxiliary, and also oversees its popular thrift shop, The Bazaar at 121 Federal Street in Easton. These duties keep Stephan active and busy, too busy to allow a painful and limiting health condition – osteoarthritis – to slow her down.
By late 2025, osteoarthritis in both of Stephan’s hands was doing just that. “At the time, my hands were so painful and stiff I could barely write my name or open jars,” Stephan said. “It was really frustrating.”
Fortunately, the new year brought new hope. In January, as she was perusing an issue of Shore Regional Health’s internal newsletter, Stephan read about low dose radiation therapy (LDRT) for treatment of osteoarthritis pain. She was pleased to learn that the treatment was being provided in Easton by Ashraf Youssef, MD, Medical Director of University of Maryland Shore Regional Health’s Requard Radiation Oncology Center.
“I knew right away that I wanted to give LDRT a try, so I asked my primary care provider to refer me to Dr. Youssef for the therapy,” said Stephan.
From Dr. Youssef, Stephan learned that LDRT is a promising, non-invasive protocol now provided by University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Department of Radiation Oncology to patients with osteoarthritis. “LDRT has a unique anti-inflammatory effect resulting in 70% of patients gaining pain relief and improvement of range of movement,” Dr. Youssef said. “It is recommended for patients over 55 years of age with a pre-existing diagnosis of osteoarthritis in various joints, such as the shoulder, elbow, hand, thumb, hip, knee, ankle or toe.”
To qualify for treatment, patients’ symptoms must have lasted more than three months during which conservative management strategies (exercise, topicals, over the counter pain relievers, etc.) have not been successful.
Using a very low and safe dose of radiation, the treatment is given over few minutes every other day for six treatments. Stephan’s course of LDRT took place in February, each treatment lasting about three minutes. “My overall time in the Requard Center, from check-in to leaving, was probably no more than 20 minutes each time, so there was very little inconvenience,” she said.
After a couple of radiation therapy sessions, the osteoarthritis pain in Stephan’s left hand began to ease, and by the end of treatment, she was more than pleased by the results.
“LDRT has brought me great relief,” she said. “After receiving treatments on my right hand and thumb, the pain relief is coming along a little more slowly but I’m hopeful that it will continue to improve and catch up.”
“Osteoarthritis is a very common disease, affecting more than 32 million Americans,” said Dr. Youssef. “LDRT can bring relief from osteoarthritis pain for three years or more. For me and the team in the Requard Radiation Center, it’s very gratifying to be able to provide pain relief through LDRT that enables patients to delay or avoid joint replacement surgery, decrease the use of pain medication, and enjoy a better quality of life.”
Individuals interested in learning more about LDRT for osteoarthritis pain or being evaluated for possible treatment are encouraged to call the Requard Radiation Oncology Center at UM Shore Regional Health, 410-820-6800.
University of Maryland Shore Regional Health
A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.
About the University of Maryland Medical System
The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high-quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org .