Key Takeaways Proton therapy may be an option for many cancer types, particularly those with defined borders that have not spread widely. Proton therapy may reduce radiation exposure to nearby healthy tissue. Its physical properties allow the care team to concentrate radiation in the treatment area and limit the dose beyond it. Avoiding radiation to […]
At a Glance The lifetime limit. Radiation oncologists generally deliver full-dose radiation to a specific area in the body only once because healthy tissue can safely absorb only a certain amount of radiation. Over time, normal tissues can recover from some of the damage from prior radiation, but the risk of side effects increases with […]
Facing cancer brings many questions, and one of the most common is whether proton therapy is the right treatment option. Proton therapy is a form of precision radiation treatment designed to target tumors while helping to reduce radiation to nearby healthy tissue. Whether proton therapy treatment is a fit depends on a few factors, including […]
A cancer diagnosis floods you with new vocabulary overnight, and “radiation therapy” is almost always in the pile. So here is the plain-English version: radiation therapy uses focused beams of high-energy particles or waves to damage the DNA inside cancer cells so they can no longer grow and divide, ideally while limiting the dose to […]
Different types of radiation interact with the body in different ways. X-rays (also known as photons) are a standard type of radiation, used both to take X-ray pictures and for radiation treatment. Proton therapy is a different type of radiation which uses positively charged particles (protons) from the center (nucleus) of an atom. Proton particles […]
Proton therapy is an advanced radiation treatment that uses a precisely controlled proton beam to destroy cancer cells while reducing radiation to nearby healthy tissue. Conventional X-ray treatment spreads radiation energy along its entire path, through the tumor and into healthy tissue beyond it. But with proton therapy, doctors calibrate the beam to release most […]
Emory Proton Therapy Center completes treatment for 2022nd patient. A little over three years ago, a small group of staff gathered on the treatment level of the Emory Proton Therapy Center to press a button and summon an invisible beam of protons to treat their very first patients. Read full article here.
Emory Proton Therapy Center celebrates its second anniversary this month and has reached an important milestone: treating its 1,000th patient. Since opening in 2018, the Emory Proton Therapy Center has been a tremendous addition to Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University’s (Winship) and the Department of Radiation Oncology’s advanced treatment options for patients with many […]
In the spring of 2018, a 55-year-old woman presented to her doctor with symptoms of sinus infection and numbness in the side of her face and lip. Based on a presumed diagnosis of chronic sinusitis, she underwent sinus surgery. Pathology revealed a soft tissue sarcoma, and she was referred to Winship Cancer Institute of Emory […]
Varian reports, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony today in Atlanta, Georgia, the Varian-equipped Emory Proton Therapy Center officially opened. This five-treatment room facility features the Varian ProBeam® proton therapy system. Four of the rooms include 360-degree rotational gantries offering image-guided intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT), and the fifth room is dedicated for fixed beam treatments. Read […]