The Three Major Benefits of Proton Therapy

The fight against cancer, in general, has been a long and very frustrating one for many people. Over the last several decades, research and practical application of new ideas and discovered treatment options have made those who might be facing a fight with cancer more optimistic than those who have come before them and lost their battle.

Proton therapy for head and neck cancer, for example, has given new hope to those battling these deadly cancers. When you combine successful outcomes with a low risk of side effects, you always have a treatment worth looking into. When considering all of the possibilities surrounding your cancer, proton treatment offers some pretty exciting, non-invasive cancer treatment options you might not find elsewhere. Here are three major benefits of proton therapy for head and neck cancer and for several other types of cancer as well.

Proton therapy treatment is very precisely targeted

Proton therapy for head and neck cancer, or for the many other types of cancer it can effectively treat, can be so effective because of the very specific way the radiation targets only the cancerous tissue. When you use conventional radiation, the radiation continues on beyond the cancerous tumor to healthy tissue, often times causing additional damage. In such cases, one wonders whether the cure is worse than the disease. But, proton therapy for cancer cuts down on the damage to innocent tissue and kills only what it is targeted to kill, namely, the cancer that could be killing you.

Proton therapy leaves you with fewer side effects to deal with

When you are battling cancer, the last thing you want is to have to deal with side effects from your treatments. You have enough to deal with as it is. But, with proton therapy, the targeted nature of the radiation lessons the need to worry about those nasty side effects. Proton therapy for breast cancer, for example, is a great option because on average, no radiation gets to the heart and you have, on average, 50% less radiation to the lungs when you compare proton therapy to conventional radiation.

In addition, there have been several studies done that have found that prostate cancer patients have a significantly reduced chance of becoming impotent after the treatment sessions. In fact, 94% of men, after going through proton therapy for their prostate cancer reported that they remain sexually active.

Proton therapy sessions do not take long and are not as draining as traditional radiation

In general, cancer treatment can be long and very tiring. Proton therapy for head and neck cancer, however, can target right where the problem tissues are and get you in and out of the doctor’s office usually in less than an hour. Most other cancers can be treated the same way, allowing you to live a more normal life during your treatment schedule. The actual time delivering the protons to the tumor is only about one to two minutes. It is that effective.

If you have been diagnosed with cancer, ask your doctor if proton therapy is right for the type of cancer you have. If it is, you might have just taken your first steps along the road to recovery.