How is proton therapy different from traditional radiation treatment?
Like traditional radiation therapy (which uses photons, or X-rays), proton therapy kills cancer cells by preventing them from dividing and growing. The difference is that in traditional radiation therapy, the X-ray beam spreads radiation to healthy tissue as it travels through the patient’s body on its way to (and beyond) the tumor. Proton therapy can be precisely targeted to the tumor, allowing patients to receive higher, more effective doses, and greatly reducing damage to healthy tissue near the tumor. Research shows proton therapy causes fewer side effects than traditional radiation therapy, reduces the chances of secondary tumors and improves patients’ quality of life.
