Why Proton Therapy?

Proton therapy has been offered for more than 40 years and over 52,000 patients have been treated. Proton therapy provides superior tumor control and vastly diminishes post-treatment side effects when compared to conventional external beam therapies, surgery and chemotherapy. Because of these substantial benefits, proton therapy is an important addition to radiation therapy treatment options.

The clinical benefits of proton therapy over conventional radiation therapy can be summarized as follows:

• Potential for increased tumor control with precise targeting and lower integral dose
  
  
• Reduced occurrence of treatment related side-effects due to the precision of the dose delivery and the resulting limited amount of radiation delivered to healthy tissues adjacent to the treatment volume
  
  
• Reduced probability of secondary malignancies due to radiation treatment, especially in children
  

Unique Pediatric Advantages

Proton therapy is particularly appropriate for treating tumors in children where great emphasis is placed upon reduction of any irradiation of normal tissues to prevent serious complications and reduce incidence of secondary tumors. Pediatric patients can have markedly improved opportunities with proton and significantly reduced risk.