The difficult nature of many cancer treatments makes the prospect of seeking help difficult for many of those that need it. Many believe that chemotherapy remains the only option to fight cancer, totally unaware of the other developments medical science has undergone. Although the traditional treatments are still used widely, newer options can be combined with it, or with other treatments, or even be utilized alone. One example of these advanced cancer treatment options is proton therapy.
Protons are positively charged particles which can be targeted in a beam at high energy into the body. Technically a type of radiation therapy, proton therapy, or proton beam therapy, has great value among the advanced cancer treatment options. Following are some of the reasons proton cancer treatment demonstrates marked benefits for the patients it is used to treat.
- Precision: The proton beam used in this treatment can first be targeted with near perfect precision at the cancer cells within the body without also hitting the healthy tissue. Furthermore, the proton beam takes the ability to kill cancer cells found in a common x-ray beam and makes it far more valuable by allowing the physician to decide where the protons work on the body.
- Quality of Life: The beam of protons can be focused so tightly, it spans no wider than a pencil. With such precision, the damage to the patient is far less than often can be the case with other therapies. This leads to enhanced patient quality of life during and after their treatment has concluded.
- Effective With Specific Cancers: One of the most prized aspects of this treatment is the results it displays in complex cancers, like those in the eye, prostate and in children. Prostate cancer treatment, for example, has always been an uncertain prospect, so the success of protons has saved many lives. Another positive aspect relates to the results with one of the more common cancers, breast cancer. In breast cancer treatment, as in the prostate cancer options, protons are invaluable
Advanced cancer treatment options are the primary focus for some of the medical fields top minds. New advancements will keep being developed by these doctors and scientists, and maybe eventually they will find a cure. However, until then, the treatment options available might be better than you think, so call a cancer specialist today.
