Treatments

Proton therapy for prostate cancer

Proton therapy is an advanced treatment option that precisely delivers radiation to the size, shape and depth of your prostate. This approach allows your doctor to radiate the cancer while limiting damage to the surrounding tissue.

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Target your prostate with precision

More precision means less damage to healthy tissue in the urethra, bladder, bowel, and sexual organs than with standard radiation, potentially offering fewer short- and long-term side effects and secondary cancers.

Side effects A problem that occurs when treatment affects healthy tissues or organs. Some side effects of cancer treatment are nausea, vomiting, fatigue, pain, decreased blood cell counts, hair loss and mouth sores.

With prostate cancer, you have a wide variety of treatment options that depend on who you are and what your cancer requires: options like surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, radiation and more. If radiation is called for, proton therapy can better target the treatment area and protect your surrounding healthy tissue from radiation.

Chemotherapy Treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. It may be given alone or with other treatments. Treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Chemotherapy may be given by mouth, injection, infusion or on the skin, depending on the type and stage of the cancer being treated. It may be given alone or with other treatments, such as surgery, radiation therapy or biologic therapy. Hormone therapy Hormones can cause some cancers to grow. To slow or stop growth, synthetic hormones or other drugs can be used to block the body’s natural hormones, or surgery is used to remove a hormone-producing gland. Treatment that adds, blocks or removes hormones. For certain conditions (such as diabetes or menopause), hormones are given to adjust low hormone levels. Hormones can also cause certain cancers (such as prostate and breast cancer) to grow. To slow or stop the growth of cancer, synthetic hormones or other drugs can be used to block the body’s natural hormones, or surgery is used to remove the gland that makes a certain hormone. Also called endocrine therapy, hormonal therapy and hormone treatment.

standard radiation versus proton therapy

Proton therapy takes advantage of a unique characteristic of protons—they deliver their maximum dose of radiation, known as the Bragg Peak, right before they come to a stop. That’s how the damage is concentrated on the cancer, protecting healthy tissue.

If you’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the radiation oncology specialists at our proton therapy facility are available to give a second opinion and determine if proton therapy is right for you.

Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS)

Some patients may benefit from innovative pencil beam scanning (PBS). PBS "paints" the prostate with a very thin, very precise beam of protons that's accurate within millimeters, reducing even further the amount of radiation to healthy tissue. PBS sends rapid pulses of protons to each planned spot within the prostate until the entire cancer is treated.

Proton therapy facts

Proton therapy may help preserve testosterone production and reduce the likelihood of secondary tumors in the future.
Treatments are safe and relatively painless for most prostate patients, helping speed recovery and maintain lifestyle.
Appointments typically take between 15-60 minutes, meaning no overnight stays and minimal interruption of your routine.
As of 2022, more than 200,000 people worldwide have received proton therapy at centers in Europe, Asia and the United States.
Proton therapy is often the only radiation treatment available if you’ve already received radiation for a previous cancer occurrence.

Learn More About Prostate Cancer Treatment Types

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Our proton therapy team is here not only to treat you, but to listen to you and take care of you and your family. They are experts in the field of proton radiation therapy, focus exclusively on treating patients, understand your questions, needs and concerns.