How is proton therapy given to the patient?
Proton therapy is non-invasive (which means it does not require an injection or involve tools that enter the body), painless, typically takes about 15 to 20 minutes per session and can be performed without an overnight stay in the hospital. Treatments are usually given five days a week, for a period of four to eight weeks. The actual treatment lasts about one minute, but each session can range from 15 to 30 minutes due to time spent positioning the patient for this precise treatment. Once physicians determine a patient is a candidate for proton therapy, there are several general steps in the process. The following example illustrates the steps for a treatment that would require a patient to lie down (e.g. prostate cancer): Pre-treatment stage First, the patient is fitted with a whole-body mold (sometimes called a pod) that he will lie in during treatment to make sure he will be in exactly the same position for each session. Next, a CT scan (multiple X-rays of the body) is taken to give
Proton therapy is a non-invasive and painless treatment that can be performed in a proton therapy center without an overnight stay in the hospital. The time spent actually delivering the protons to the tumor is about one minute, but a treatment session can range from 15 to 30 minutes due to time spent positioning the patient for this precise treatment.
