If you have been recently diagnosed with a kind of cancer, you are probably very frightened, depressed, and confronted with your own mortality. And rightly so, as cancer is a life- threatening disease. As Steve Jobs said, “We all want to go to heaven, but we do not wish to die to get there.” So with the possibility of death hanging over your head, what do you do now? Do you put yourself in your doctor’s hands, which is not exactly a bad thing to do, or do you find out everything you can about your condition, evaluate all your options, and make a decision that is best for you?
Ever since a 37-year-old brother lost his battle to cancer many years ago, my father started researching on this dreaded disease. During one of his visits to a bookstore, he came across a book, You Can Beat Prostrate Cancer (and You Don’t Need Surgery to Do It), by Robert J. Marckini. The author describes his battle with prostate cancer, and the extensive research he did to choose the right treatment for himself. In 2000, he chose to go to Loma Linda University Medical Center for proton therapy, the treatment he chose to fight his prostrate cancer. Six years after his treatment, he was cancer-free and living a healthy lifestyle, and decided to write about his inspiring victory over prostate cancer through proton therapy.
Recently, another brother got hit by the Big C and my father had no doubt in his mind that proton therapy was the best option for him.
MD Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas, has a Proton Therapy Center which treats all kinds of cancer and they accepted to treat my brother who has an inoperable tumor near his carotid gland.
My sister and I went with him to MD Anderson and my innate curiosity drove me to learn what has to be learned about this cutting-edge radiation technology. Dr. Andrew Lee, MD, MPH, a radiation oncologist, an expert in proton therapy, and a director of the hospital’s advanced technology program, was so kind as to give me an interview despite his very busy schedule. Enlightened about proton therapy, I am now very positive that soon, by the grace of God, my brother will be cancer-free.
What is proton therapy?
“Proton therapy is an advanced type of radiation treatment that uses a beam of protons with sub-millimeter precision to irradiate or deliver radiation directly to the tumor, destroying cancer cells while sparing surrounding healthy tissue and other critical areas or vital organs.”
Dr. Lee further elaborates on the difference between conventional radiation (using x-rays) and proton therapy: “ Conventional radiation (x-ray) deposits the majority of its dose within the first inch after it hits the skin, and it continues to deposit dose after it reaches the tumor. Hitting a deep tumor with just one or two x-ray beams is hard (that would be like trying to power-wash your driveway with a water pick). We often need to use many different beams to cover the tumor and this can result in more radiation exposure to normal tissues. This is where proton therapy has the edge. Protons deposit most of their dose at the tumor and more importantly stop traveling after they hit the tumor. This reduces the radiation dose beyond the tumor, allows the use of fewer beams, and subsequently results in greater sparing of normal tissue. Proton treatment requires sophisticated machinery and expert professionals to deliver it. The synchrotron will accelerate protons to almost the speed of light for maximal penetration. Inside the synchrotron, they may travel 300,000 miles, which is equivalent to circling the earth 12-13 times. The protons are then fed to the treatment gantry, which is a massive 190-ton device that directs the proton beam before it enters the patient. Despite its large size (over 40 feet in diameter), the gantries have a precision of 1mm. We also have a highly trained, dedicated group of professionals who operate and maintain the Proton Therapy Center to ensure that everything works to its best level.“
With proton therapy, beams of protons are used to precisely target and kill cancerous tumors, even those tumors that are difficult to reach because they are near or within vital areas or located in sensitive areas of the body. Supercharged protons enter the body with a low dose of radiation, stop at the tumor site, conform to or “match” the tumor’s shape and volume or depth, and deposit the bulk of their cancer-fighting energy right at the site of the tumor.
And now, Pencil beam proton therapy
Continuously expanding ways to use proton therapy to benefit patients, the team at MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center pioneered pencil beam proton therapy, also called scanning beam, one of the few centers worldwide providing this innovative technology. Pencil beam technology builds on the benefits of proton therapy. With a proton beam just a few millimeters wide, pencil beam combines precision and effectiveness, offering unmatched ability to treat a patient’s tumor without compromising quality of life during and after treatment. Because pencil beam proton therapy is even more targeted, it results in even greater radiation dose directly to the tumor, shorter daily treatments, and reduced side effects for patients. Pencil beam is very effective in treating the most complex tumors, like those in the prostate, brain, base of the skull, and eye, as well as cancers in children, while leaving healthy tissue and other critical areas unharmed.
But is it right for you? Proton therapy benefits patients whose tumors are solid with defined borders, meaning the cancer has not spread to other parts of the body. The noninvasive treatment does not require surgery to remove the cancer, making it ideal for inoperable tumors.
Proton therapy is painless, has minimal side effects (does not cause hair fall, nausea, etc., except when mixed with other treatments like chemotherapy, depending on your oncologist’s prescription), and usually takes seven to 10 weeks of treatment.
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For information or new patient appointment or physician referrals, call 1-877-MDA-6789. Website: mdanderson.org.
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