Proton Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is an awful thing and it’s scary for those who are diagnosed with it as well as those who love them. It calls for the right kind of treatment at the right time. One option for breast cancer treatment is proton radiation therapy and it has some benefits over other types of external beam radiotherapy.

What is Proton Radiation Therapy?

This kind of breast cancer care uses a controlled beam of protons to irradiate cancerous tissue. A particle accelerator is used to target the beam at tumors. The charged particles essentially kill cancerous cells and stop their production. It can be performed at a local cancer treatment center.

What are the Benefits of Proton Therapy?

This cancer treatment therapy has a couple of benefits that make it a better option than other external beam therapies. One of those benefits is how targeted the proton beam is. It doesn’t have a lot of lateral spread and tends to stay within the vicinity of the tumor. It also stops at a specific spot in the tissue so that it doesn’t radiate to your heart. This level of control over the radiation is best for your body and health.

Another great thing about proton therapy for breast cancer is the fact that cancerous cells are so reactive to it. These cells don’t do well under DNA attacks and have a hard time repairing DNA damage. That means that this form of treatment is effective in killing off cancer cells and stopping them from repairing themselves.

How Do You Get Proton Therapy?

Receiving this kind of therapy starts by reaching out to a cancer treatment center. If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer they can help you to go over your treatment options and set up appointments. Testing and more information will probably be necessary before determining if proton radiation therapy is the best choice for you or not. It depends on a variety of things such as the tumor stage, type, and where it’s located.

Proton radiation therapy could be what’s right for you and could potentially save your life. Talk with your choice of cancer treatment center and see if it’s the best treatment for you.