Osteoarthritis Pain “Geauxs” Away for Louisiana Lady Treated at Spencer Cancer Center
April 22, 2026
After three surgeries, consultations with surgeons from Louisiana to New York and more than 80 occupational therapy visits, Michele Tymkiw was still searching for relief. The pain in her right hand, stubborn and unrelenting, had refused to fade.
Tymkiw, a freelance writer from Slidell, Louisiana, first noticed pain in her thumb in 2021 caused by osteoarthritis. What started as a mild discomfort gradually worsened, becoming a persistent problem that interfered with her daily life.
“Every morning within 10 minutes of waking up, I was already thinking ‘oh gosh, it hurts,’” Tymkiw recalled.
The pain from the condition was inescapable. Over time, everyday tasks like turning door knobs, holding a cup of coffee or petting her dogs became challenges.
Even the activities most precious to Tymkiw, like holding her new grandchild, working in her garden or even writing, would inevitably cause pain.
“I have a grandbaby, and if you’ve ever held a baby, you know you have to support their neck with your hand right behind their head, and that was very, very painful,” Tymkiw said. “So, what should have been something joyous brought me a lot of pain.”
Over the course of three years, Tymkiw underwent three surgeries on her right hand in New Orleans. After still experiencing pain, she met with a surgeon in New York to seek a lasting solution. When the surgeon recommended a fourth procedure, Tymkiw decided to look for relief elsewhere.
After reading a Wall Street Journal article about alternative approaches to treating conditions like arthritis, she began searching for physicians outside the surgical realm. Her research led her to Arthur Ko, M.D., at the Spencer Cancer Center.
Dr. Ko, a radiation oncologist, is one of the few physicians in the southeast who offers low dose radiation therapy (LDRT) for osteoarthritis.
As a non-invasive treatment option for osteoarthritis pain, LDRT is particularly recommended for patients over 40 who haven't found relief with other treatments. It involves administering low doses of radiation to the affected joint over short, outpatient sessions to reduce inflammation and pain.
Between October and December 2025, Tymkiw and her husband would make the nearly five-hour trek from Slidell to Auburn-Opelika for a total of six treatments. During each visit, the radiation team and Dr. Ko would take vitals, prep Tymkiw’s hand for treatment and perform the procedure. The process itself would typically take just a few minutes.
“He [Dr. Ko] is really a meticulous, kindhearted person, and I really liked his bedside manner,” Tymkiw said. “The whole team was friendly and welcoming.”
Now in April 2026, Tymkiw says she has been nearly pain-free for three months.
With the pain gone, Tymkiw is getting back to the things she has missed. Among those are holding her grandchild, pruning her garden, petting the dogs and completing her authorship of a genealogy book.
“I went three months without thinking about it [hand pain], which is a big thing when you have been in pain for a really long time like I have,” Tymkiw said. “It’s a big deal to go through the whole day and not think about pain, because it is no longer there.”
To learn more about LDRT for osteoarthritis, contact the Spencer Cancer Center at 334-528-1070 or visit www.eastalabamahealth.org/scc.
About East Alabama Health
East Alabama Health encompasses East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, EAMC-Lanier Rural Emergency Hospital in Valley, East Alabama Medical Center North in Opelika, the Spencer Cancer Center in Opelika, the Auburn Medical Pavilion and a host of other key medical clinics and practices that help provide a continuum of care to patients throughout an 11-county area. EAMC is a 316-bed regional referral hospital. EAMC-Lanier Rural Emergency Hospital provides emergency and outpatient services while its campus also features a nursing home and an ambulatory surgery center. East Alabama Health employs about 4,100 people and is the second largest employer in the region, trailing only Auburn University.
