Proton Therapy

September 19th, 2011 by admin1

You may have previously heard of radiation therapy or even chemotherapy as a way to treat cancerous tissue. However, there is an alternative to both of those. It is called proton therapy. Proton therapy uses a beam of protons to directly irradiate cancerous parts of the body. Its benefit opposed to radiation therapy or chemotherapy is doctors are able to precisely localize where the treatment goes. It is much more accurate than traditional radiation therapy.

How proton therapy works is during treatment there is a concentrated beam of protons that comes from a particle accelerator that is focused on the cancerous tumor. The protons then damage the DNA in the cancer cells. This damage prevents the cancer cell from reproducing as quickly. The proton beam is able to stay much more focused during treatment because of the properties of protons. That is why there is little side-scatter into other tissue. It is not yet clear if proton therapy has better outcomes than traditional radiation therapies. Proton therapy is quite a bit more expensive than the alternatives as well.

The type of tumor, location, and what stage the cancerous tumor is in determines whether or not your doctor can use a proton beam to treat your form of cancer. If you have questions abo0ut different treatment types please talk to your doctor as your doctor will have more information about what is best for your particular situation.

Side effects from proton therapy in a lot of cases are less severe than other forms of radiation therapy. This is due to the effectiveness of the delivery of proton radiation to the site of affected tissue. Side effects of proton therapy include:

  • include temporary hair loss
  • skin reactions in the direct path of the radiation
  • Fatigue, especially when a large area is being treated.

Radiation therapy has similar side effects to proton therapy. Radiation therapy side effects are:

  • lung or heart problems
  • nausea
  • fatigue
  • skin problems and
  • Hair loss.

Ways to overcome the side effects include having a healthy diet; reduce stress, exercise, and rest. Getting proton therapy or radiation therapy can be very psychologically draining, talk to you doctor if you would like extra support or counseling. As of June 2011 there were a total of 37 proton therapy centers across the world. There are currently teams of designers trying to design smaller equipment for proton therapy as to create more ease in receiving treatment.