The past decade has seen some huge strides forward for cancer therapy. There are now more options than ever when it comes to handling options for cancer, whether they be prostate cancer options or breast cancer options. Even brain cancer treatment is now more efficient and affordable than it was in the early part of the decade. One of the most promising types of therapy is proton radiation therapy which is a little different than all the others. Simply put, proton therapy is more targeted than other types of therapy. It doesn’t move past the directed tissue. Instead, it stops at the target, thereby reducing damage to the surrounding tissue. This greatly enhances the safety and the effectiveness of the therapy, making it much cleaner than methods that came before. There are so many benefits to this approach as opposed to the others, it’s hard to count them all. Here are just a couple.
Since the options for dealing with cancer are so numerous nowadays, it can be hard to parse out just which ones are most effective. Prostate cancer options are especially difficult and need careful consideration. With proton treatment, the amount and direction of radiation is different. This is by far the biggest and most useful different of proton therapy for cancer. Less radiation is given to the targeted tissue, which reduces the risk for everything, the target and surrounding tissues included. The amount of radiation can actually be reduced by up to 60% from normal therapy which, again, is an enormous difference. The targeted radiation approach can have benefits outside of the immediate therapy and treatment as well. A handful of studies have found that the treatment lowers the rate of impotence among men who are undergoing different types of prostate cancer treatment. Up to 94% of these men have said that they are sexually involved and active in the weeks following the treatment. With a different approach to the radiation, the entire process changes. This is one of the main goals of proton radiation therapy.
The other major benefit is the ease of the treatments themselves. The sessions only last around a half hour and the actual radiation administration is only around a minute. This makes the treatment for breast cancer or the treatment for prostate cancer much easier than it would be for conventional therapy. The therapy sessions only typically last 6 weeks as well, reducing the months and months of waiting the patient may encounter otherwise. The shortened amount of time makes it easy for the busy patients to do other, more positive and productive things than sit around waiting for treatment. The positivity might not seem important but it is. A brighter attitude, brought along by less time dwelling on therapy, has its own healing effect as well. It can keep the patient going when all seems chaotic and negative.
The benefits of this option, both for prostate cancer options and breast cancer options, is coming through in data. 2015 saw upwards of 30 particle therapy centers being built around the world. In the last few years, 30,0000 people or more have undergone particle treatment in the United States and even more worldwide. People are observing the benefits and coming back for more. The efficiency and advanced techniques speak for themselves. Patients are smart and can tell what works and what doesn’t. By following data and trends, doctors can do the same. They can follow the routes that save lives and continue in the fight to banish cancer to the annals of medical history.
