An 11-year-old boy who survived a rare type of eye cancer is hoping a new hyperbaric center will help heal the wounds he received during treatment.

Lance Kopplin of Rhinelander is the first patient to try out the hyperbaric chamber at Wausau Aspirus Hospital.

After his eye was removed to save his life and he received radiation, his eye socket has not healed in more than three years.

His mom hopes 30 sessions in the chamber will help her son heal.

"What hyperbaric therapy does is it puts 100% of oxygen into his tissues in hopes that he'll grow new blood vessels to supply that infected area with new fresh oxygenated blood," said Jolene Kopplin, Lance's mom.

A doctor tells me the majority of the patients who will use the hyperbaric chamber will be diabetics who have foot ulcers.