EDMOND — Keeping Larry Fryer off the greens is no easy task. The 68-year-old Edmond resident has been playing the sport of golf since he was a kid growing up in Frederick, Oklahoma and had no plans of quitting anytime soon.
Unfortunately, it looked like the former golf pro would have to do just that after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer last March. But thanks to a unique form of cancer treatment at ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City, Fryer did not miss a beat.
“I went through the treatment fine, I didn’t have any side effects and still don’t,” Fryer said before returning to ProCure for an appointment earlier this week. “I’m back for the first follow-up treatment and I don’t feel like I have any reason to be here. The people of Oklahoma are very lucky to have this.”
Fryer was one of the first to receive proton therapy at the ProCure facility, which opened last July. The proton therapy treatment is only available in a few locations in the country with the next closest location at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Proton therapy is a unique form of radiation that precisely targets cancer cells. The treatment does less damage to surrounding healthy tissue, which in turn leads to fewer side effects.
“Proton therapy allows us to deliver treatment more precisely,” said Dr. Sameer Keoloe who treated Fryer at ProCure. “Traditional radiation treatment is like a bullet because it damages all tissues on it’s way to the tumor. But proton therapy is like firecracker because it does damage to tumor but not really as much to the rest of the tissue.”
After learning about the cancer, Fryer was quickly drawn to proton therapy and was accepted as patient at the Loma Linda Medical Center in California. He began receiving hormone treatment as precursor to the proton therapy that was set to begin in August. Fryer soon put his plans on hold when learned that proton therapy would be available in Oklahoma City.
“I knew the Oklahoma facility was opening but I didn’t think it would be in time for my treatment,” Fryer said. “After I found out it would be open in August I bugged them until they let me in.”
The Edmond resident was the first patient to be accepted into the treatment at ProCure and became the fourth person to graduate last fall. Not long after the treatment Fryer was back on the golf course.
“I have been golfing since the proton therapy, but it hasn’t helped my game at all,” Fryer joked.
Fryer attended college at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas and later turned pro in 1967. He played two years on the PGA Tour before beginning a career as golf course professional. That move eventually brought him back to his home state where he took a position as a golf pro and director at Quail Creek Golf and Country Club in Oklahoma City.
Fryer, who has also worked as the operations manager at Oak Tree Country Club, helped Quail Creek land several prestigious tournaments including four stops on the Senior PGA Tour with the Southwestern Bell Golf Classic. But none stand out more than the Heartland Pro-Am, which benefited the children’s day center that was devastated in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in 1995.
“We had Arnold Palmer, Lee Travino and all the golfers on senior PGA Tour there,” Fryer said. “It was just nice to be able to help people after the bombing.”
While Fryer doesn’t spend as much time golfing these days, he stays busy with his venture into real estate and is no stranger at ProCure.
“I still come by and see the people because they’re so nice,” Fryer said. “I feel like I made some good friends here.”
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Edmond resident and former golf professional Larry Fryer was one of the first people in the state to undergo proton therapy treatment at the ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City. Photo provided
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Back on the green
Retired golf pro is one of first in state to undergo unique cancer treatment
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