Side Effects Of Proton Therapy For Breast Cancer

Webmd tells you how it differs from standard cancer radiotherapy.

Side effects of proton therapy for breast cancer.

Although proton radiation treatment is relatively new clinical trials for breast cancer have already shown excellent signs of disease control and minimal side effects compared with traditional forms of treatment. The most common early side effects are fatigue feeling tired and skin changes. Proton therapy sometimes called proton beam therapy is a type of radiation used to treat cancer. Early and late effects of radiation therapy.

It is possible to deliver high doses that destroy cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. Proton therapy also offers a number of other compelling benefits. The advantages of proton therapy make it especially beneficial for left side breast cancer. Early side effects happen during or shortly after treatment.

Other side effects depend on the part of the body that is being treated. Proton therapy can cause side effects as the cancer cells die or when the energy from the proton beam damages healthy tissue. Because doctors can better control where proton therapy releases its highest concentration of energy proton therapy is believed to affect less healthy tissue and have fewer side effects than traditional radiation therapy. Proton therapy is an advanced radiation treatment that zooms in on breast cancers while sparing nearby healthy tissue.

Radiation therapy has side effects because it not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells it can also affect nearby healthy cells. However proton therapy still carries risk of side effects because the targeted area may contain skin muscle nerves and other important tissue. Many people who get radiation therapy experience fatigue. Learn more about possible side effects.

Proton therapy is being researched in patients with early stage and locally advanced breast cancer. Advantages of proton therapy for breast cancer. It uses tiny particles called protons to do the job that x rays do in traditional radiation therapy. Proton therapy for lung cancer may be used for early stage cancers that cannot be treated with surgery or for a recurrence when conventional radiation therapy has already been given.

Proton therapy is a relatively new type of radiation therapy for treating cancer. The precise area of delivery offered by proton beam therapy may be beneficial for brain tumors in which even small amounts of damage to nearby normal tissues could have significant side.