Proton radiation treatment is a new type of radiation treatment for cancer, which has a number of advantages over chemotherapy and conventional radiation therapy. It does little to no damage to surrounding tissues and nearby organs, making for quicker and better recovery. There are no side effects, making it suitable for treating childhood cancer. Millions of people have already undergone this treatment and new cancer treatment centers for proton radiation therapy are being constructed around the world.
What is proton cancer treatment?
Proton treatment is a new kind of radiation treatment for cancer, which uses a focused beam of radiation to destroy the tumor. What makes it different from older types of radiation therapy is that it does not affect the surrounding healthy tissue or vital organs located nearby. For example, in breast cancer treatment, the heart receives no X-ray radiation at all, in contrast to conventional radiation treatment. And the lungs receive half the amount of radiation they would with traditional radiation therapy.
This means that there are no harmful side effects as there are in traditional treatments like radiation or chemotherapy. This also makes the recovery process quicker, with better outcomes. For all of these reasons, proton treatment for cancer is growing in popularity around the world. As of 2015, there were 30 new cancer treatment centers being built around the world, with a capacity of 80 treatment rooms.
What types of cancer does it treat?
Because it has few to no side effects, proton therapy is suitable for treating childhood cancers. It is also suitable for treating cancers located near sensitive organs, since as brain, chest and prostate cancer. Because surrounding tissues and organs are not affected by the radiation, there is little to no damage to the heart, lungs, stomach and other sensitive organs.
Proton therapy treatments record good outcomes in the treatment of prostate cancer, with low risks of recurrence. Studies have found that within five years of receiving treatment, 99% of men with low-risk prostate cancer had no signs of recurrence. For intermediate-, and high-risk prostate cancer patients, the rates of non-recurrence were 94% and 74% respectively.
What to expect from proton radiation therapy
Unlike other existing cancer treatments, radiation therapy is not exhausting and debilitating. In fact, traveling to a cancer treatment center can even be treated like a holiday, and the patent can plan on sightseeing and gentle walks in the neighborhood. Typically, the treatment is given over a period of two weeks, though it might be longer in some cases.
Treatment sessions last anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, and most of the time is spent preparing the patient for treatment. Actual exposure to radiation lasts for only a minute or two. Since there are few to no side effects, recovery can be quicker and better.
Among advanced cancer treatment options, proton therapy is promising for a number of reasons. It has few to no side effects, recovery is quicker and good outcomes have been recorded. This why a number of new cancer treatment centers for proton radiation therapy are being constructed around the world.
