Getting a cancer diagnosis can be life changing and terrifying. It can be hard to know what to do, what to believe, what course of treatment to take. When weighing treatment options, a patient should consider proton radiation therapy. Proton radiation therapy works by targeting a very specific point of tissue. This makes it a good alternative to regular radiation therapy because it can avoid sending as much radiation to the brain and the heart if not necessary. It can also decrease radiation sent to gastrointestinal structures – sending 59% less than a standard x-ray.

Proton radiation therapy can be a viable treatment for a wide variety of cancers, including neck cancer, as part of breast cancer care, and as a brain cancer treatment. In cases of prostate cancer, research has found that up to 99% of men have had no recurrence in five years when proton radiation therapy was used as a treatment of prostate cancer. When looking at prostate cancer options and treating prostate cancer, it’s important to note that up to 94% of patients who underwent proton radiation therapy were still able to remain sexually active after completing their treatment course.

Proton radiation therapy can also be considered for the treatment of brain cancers. Glioblastomas, a type of brain tumor accounting for 15% of all brain tumors, can potentially be treated using using this therapy. Thousands of adults and children alike are diagnosed with tumors of the brain and spinal cord a year, brain tumors most prevalent of all. Proton radiation therapy could provide hope for patients like these.

Proton radiation therapy is taking off in cancer treatment centers. It’s a non-invasive cancer treatment that only lasts 15 to 45 minutes per session. Only a few of those minutes are actually needed to target the cancerous tumor. By 2015, 30 particle therapy centers were under construction, bringing forth a new type of treatment to bigger and bigger sections of the general public.

Proton treatment can bring hope to cancer patients. It can bring a light into what was once dark. It’s non-invasive nature can bring back quality of life to patients undergoing treatment, particularly in the case of men with prostate cancer. It can spare damage in organs not invaded by cancer when undergoing treatment, keeping the patient in an overall healthier state. It could very well be a viable future in cancer treatment worldwide.