Proton treatment for cancer is a form of radiation therapy that has been in use for over four decades. It is a bit different from the x-ray radiation therapy. It is mostly prescribed for the treatment of mouth cancer and skin cancer. It is given externally; hence internal cancers are mostly not treated using this therapy. Here the power of protons being released can be controlled to lessen the damage caused to the other healthy tissues and organs, during the treatment for cancer. While in case of x-rays, one cannot control the power of x-rays and in turn the healthy tissues of the body receive similar dosage, resulting in their damage.

Radiation Therapy Vs Proton Treatment for Cancer

In case of radiation treatment, the x-rays being radiate lack mass and charge, hence cannot be controlled by the physicians. Because of lack of charge and mass, these x-rays move haphazardly with high energy inside the human body and can cause damage to the healthy tissues, along with the cancer cells. On the other hand, protons have charge and mass, and are energized particles with specific velocities. The energy of the proton determines their action on the human cells. As these energized particles move inside the body, they interact with the electrons. The higher the charge more is the ionization. Also, the energy released during the ionization is high. Cancer cells are sensitive to high energy, hence are destroyed easily. The dosage to the surrounding healthy tissue can be controlled and thus, the surrounding healthy cells receive lesser radiations and are less damaged.

How Proton Treatment for Cancer Works

In this type of particle beam therapy, high doses of proton are released by exposing the radiation beam to the malignant tumor area. As protons beams deposit their energy only on the target, the high doses of proton being released can be controlled, so that they do not affect other healthy tissues of the body. When these positively charged particles, protons, are passed through a beam, they ionize with the electrons of the atoms in our body. This damages the targeted molecules, DNA, of the tissue. Damage to the targeted DNA destroys or kills the cell and hence it cannot multiply itself. Associated enzymes try to rebuild these damage cells, however, the chances of cancer cells are less as compared to the healthy cells, if the damage from radiation is high. Because of this, the cancer cells uphold the caused permanent damage, which in due time leads to death. If the power of proton is well controlled then very less amount of radiation goes towards the healthy tissues of the body, thus helping them rebuild themselves quickly. As this amount of radiation is not much, it does not cause any major side effects in the patient’s body.

Side Effects of Proton Treatment for Cancer

There are no major side effects of proton treatment for cancer. The patient might experience tiredness and / or fatigue during the treatment or as the treatment progresses. By taking adequate rest and doing regular exercises during the treatment, this tiredness and fatigue can be cured. Exercising also helps you stay fit and get well soon, during your course of radiation therapy. Apart from this, some patients might also experience burning sensation while passing urine, frequent urination, diarrhea, rectal leakage or a large intestine. But these problems go away with time. In severe cases, sexual dysfunction might be a side effect of proton treatment for cancer.

Though both, proton therapy and x-ray radiation therapy work on the principle of selective cell destruction, proton therapy offers an added advantage of superior treatment management by offering the physicians the privilege to control the power of protons being radiated on the target molecule or target DNA, thus giving the patient a ray of hope.