Taking a Closer Look At Innovative Cancer Treatments
Getting a cancer diagnosis can be a terrifying thing, not to mention a hugely life changing one. Many people who survive their cancer even find that their cancer diagnosis was a major moment in their life and could even be considered to be a turning point of sorts. But in the moment of that diagnosis, the world can seem uncertain and frightening, and it can be difficult to see your options clearly in front of your. For those who are diagnosed with advanced forms of cancer, this becomes even more profound.
Fortunately, innovations are being made in cancer therapy and treatment options each and every day. For instance, cancer proton therapy has been proven to be hugely effective for many forms of cancer, from cancer proton therapy treatment for breast cancer to cancer proton therapy treatment of prostate cancer. And the benefits of cancer proton therapy over traditional radiation treatments are quite vast, particularly when it comes to lessening unnecessary radiation to other parts of the body that have not been impacted by the cancer.
Let’s take a look at breast cancer. During the course of proton radiation therapy, the amount of radiation that goes to the heart is nearly nonexistent, something that is unfortunately not the case for other types of radiation therapy. In addition to this, the lungs get only about half of the radiation that they would have been exposed to had a traditional course of radiation been pursued. Unfortunately, radiation exposure can lead to other health problems down the line, even though it is often necessary for eradicating cancer. But with cancer proton therapy, you’ll be able to get many of the benefits of radiation without many of the detrimental effects as well.
And cancer proton therapy has been found to be quite effective, something that can be seen particularly clearly in cases of proton therapy for prostate cancer. In patients that have been diagnosed as having low risk prostate cancer – prostate cancer that has been able to be diagnosed relatively early on – up to ninety nine percent of patients who went through cancer proton therapy are still in remission up to five years later. And the chances are still good for those who have been diagnosed with intermediate risk prostate cancer and choose to go through cancer proton therapy, who have a ninety four percent chance of still being cancer free five years on. And in cases of high risk prostate cancer patients who go through cancer proton therapy, very nearly seventy five percent of them will still be cancer free in the years to come, even up until five years after the treatment course has been completed and beyond it too.
And the impact of cancer proton therapy – or rather, it’s lessened impact – can also be seen in cases of prostate cancer that have been treated with the sue of cancer proton therapy. This can be seen clearly in the sex lives of people who have had prostate cancer, as very nearly ninety five percent of those who had completed proton therapy instead of regular radiation therapy were able to resume a relatively normal and regular sex life after the completion of their treatment course. Unfortunately, this is typically not the case for those who undergo regular radiation therapy for their prostate cancer, no matter what severity the cancer has been diagnosed at.
Cancer proton therapy can also be used not only for treating prostate cancer but for treating a number of different types of brain cancer. Again, the very targeted approach of proton therapy is ideal for such cases, as damage to other important areas of brain (as truly all areas of the brain are important ones) can be mitigated through the use of cancer proton therapy as opposed to the traditional forms of radiation treatment for cancer, including radiation treatment developed to treat various types of brain tumors.
All in all, cancer proton therapy has been able to provide a great deal of hope to cancer patients not just here in the United States but truly all throughout the world as well.