Hyperbaric medicine helps breast cancer survivor heal

Barb Rasmussen had a breast lumpectomy in 2021, followed by radiation treatment for breast cancer. She thought she was in the clear, but her oncologist found a lump in the same breast during a mammogram in 2025.

A mastectomy surgically removed the tissue to get rid of the breast cancer. But a month after surgery she discovered the wound wasn’t healing as expected, a result of her tissue not repairing itself properly from radiation treatments four years earlier.

Rasmussen, 67, sought wound care at Essentia Health, but the wound still wouldn’t heal.

“I told my oncologist, ‘I’m going on vacation to Arizona in November. We rented a house and I’m going in the pool,’ ” she said. “He said, ‘Not unless the wound is healed.’ ”

She was referred for hyperbaric medicine treatment at Essentia Health-Fargo in August 2025.

How hyperbaric medicine works

Hyperbaric medicine involves receiving pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Breathing oxygen at a higher pressure in a controlled environment helps get more oxygen into a patient’s blood to reach areas that aren’t healing. Proper supervision throughout the process ensures patient safety.

May is Hyperbaric Medicine Awareness Month.

Essentia Health-Fargo is the only hospital in North Dakota that offers 24/7 hyperbaric care and the only one in North Dakota, South Dakota or Montana to hold the highest accreditation status with distinction from the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society.

Overcoming anxiety

Rasmussen was apprehensive before her first hyperbaric treatment, two hours spent in a hyperbaric chamber under constant supervision.

“When I got in there and looked at that tube, I was like, ‘I’m not going in there,’ ” she said. “But the nurses were so reassuring. They make sure you are comfortable. They turn on the TV to a program you want to watch. You can also sleep if you want. Someone is there right outside the chamber the whole time. You can talk to them if you want.”

Rasmussen, who works in Guest Services at Essentia Health-Fargo, received 50, two-hour hyperbaric treatments five times a week between late August and mid-November 2025. Her wound healed completely after treatment, allowing her to go swimming on vacation in Arizona as planned in November 2025.

“I was so happy,” Rasmussen recalls. “I wore a hyperbaric T-shirt that Essentia gave me to the airport. People were asking me what hyperbaric means. I told everyone how great it was and that it was painless. I would definitely recommend hyperbaric medicine to anyone who is considering it. It worked for me.”

Learn more about hyperbaric medicine from Essentia Health's Dr. David Ajayi in this interview on Valley News Live's North Dakota Today.