Cancer is one of the greatest barriers to our health today.
Skin cancer is on the rise in the United States, not at all helped by the popularity of tanning beds and a lack of awareness on sun protection. Breast cancer sees thousands of new patients entering hospitals every year. Medical advances are doing their best to keep up with the increasing demand for fast, effective treatment and diagnosis. With radiation treatment for cancer, there may be hope yet. Cancer proton therapy is widely considered one of the best methods of targeting tumors and reducing the risk of resurgence, able to treat breast cancer and prostate cancer alike.
While there may be no simple cure yet, the future is looking bright for cancer survivors. Learn below how proton therapy works and what to expect down the road.
Cancer treatment therapy has changed significantly these past few years. For every step backwards there are two steps forward, all thanks to the hard work of engineers, scientists, and doctors. Common cancer treatment therapies include radiation treatment, which is considered difficult at best, and physical removal of tumors. More advanced cancer treatment options are being requested with the influx of new patients. What sort of non-invasive cancer treatment can still provide long-term results?
The more studies released on cancer rates, the more dire things seem. It’s estimated one out of every seven women today will be diagnosed with a form of breast cancer. Common signs of breast cancer include (but aren’t limited to) painful lumps, discoloration, tenderness, redness, and unexplained swelling. Prostate cancer is also very common, with these rates rising depending on age and various health issues. According to the CDC, 35% of men over the age of 20 are obese, with another 35% having high blood pressure.
The function of cancer therapy is to both treat the issue and prevent it from reoccurring. It also needs to provide relief to the patient, not replace one problem with another. This is a tall order that only gets more severe over time. Radiation treatment for cancer can often cause surrounding tissue and muscles to become affected, still leading to long-term problems for the patient involved. Every year over 24,000 adults and 4,000 children are diagnosed with tumors of the brain and spine.
Proton beam radiation is an experimental cancer treatment therapy with huge promise. It functions by creating a type of radiation at a very specific point in the targeted tissue, whereas conventional radiation often continues past the tumor. With breast cancer this means, on average, no radiation to the heart will occur. Proton therapy also produces 50% less radiation to the lung compared with conventional methods. There has been significant progress with prostate cancer, to boot.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms seen in the United States. This has caused a notable rise in cancer treatment facilities to keep up. Back in 2015 more than 30 particle therapy centers were set up, with a total of 80 treatment rooms designed to address several forms of cancer. Thanks to proton therapy’s more targeted approach to tumors studies have found prostate cancer patients having a reduced risk of impotence. Follow-up research has found over 95% of low-risk prostate cancer patients having resurgence.
Radiation treatment for cancer has been taking off these past few years. With a little more work and research many forms of cancer could be a thing of the past.
