Voice-over:
Radiation therapy for the treatment of tumors is used in hundreds of cancer centers around the U-S. But this X-ray technology can't always deliver the intensely focused doses needed to battle the most hard-to-treat tumors.
Voice-over:
Proton beam therapy is a high-tech alternative, and one that can zap many cancers that are otherwise untreatable. Now University of Florida radiation oncologists at the Southeast's first proton beam facility… only the fifth in the nation… have treated their first patient, a Cocoa Beach man who has prostate cancer.
Ben Smith / Proton beam therapy patient
"You don't think of a cancer patient as feeling lucky, but I feel lucky, I feel blessed being able to be here."
Voice-over:
The therapy involves subatomic particles called protons that are accelerated to near the speed of light. As the radiation hits its cancerous target, it releases a powerful burst of energy into
the tumor, while sparing neighboring healthy tissue. Experts say that while X-ray technology has served many patients well, proton therapy is a necessary next step.
Dr. Nancy Mendenhall / UF Medical Director, Proton Beam Therapy Institute:
"In my mind we're getting close to our limits of X-rays as to how much more improvement we can make. We've done a great job, but I don't think we're going to be able to go much farther with X-rays in terms of targeting the tumor better."
Voice-over:
The fewer complications seen during proton therapy mean doctors can safely up the amount of radiation during each session. While standard X-ray radiotherapy is still best for certain cancers, proton beam therapy has the potential to be more effective for patients with prostate, lung and head and neck cancers, as well as tumors of the brain or eyes. It also leads to fewer long-term side effects in children battling certain cancers, and can be especially useful in adults with advanced tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, the breast and the cervix.
Dr. Nancy Mendenhall / UF Medical Director, Proton Beam Therapy Institute:
"I think that we will see higher tumor control rates, I think we will see lower toxicity rates. I think more patients will survive and they'll survive with fewer secondary effects from radiation treatments."
Voice-over:
At the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville, I'm Mike Garrison
