Proton Beam Therapy For Lung Cancer Uk

Proton beam therapy uses beams of protons to target cancerous tumours.

Proton beam therapy for lung cancer uk.

If the lung cancer is operable surgery is the choice for local therapy but combined therapy including surgery and radiation including proton therapy for lung cancer is often recommended for more advanced disease. Proton beam therapy is only suitable for certain types of cancer such as highly complex brain head and neck cancers and sarcomas as it does not lead to better outcomes for many cancer cases than using high energy x rays which is still considered the most appropriate and effective treatment for the majority of cancers. Protons are small particles of an atom and a particle accelerator also called a cyclotron is used to speed up the protons to produce the beam. Proton beam therapy is not widely available in the uk.

Proton beam therapy damages cancer cells in a treated area this stops their growth and over time these cells die. From the moment you are diagnosed through to treatment and recovery we support you on your cancer journey every step of the way. Proton beam therapy is currently only available in the uk to treat eye cancers but patients with other forms of cancer can apply for nhs funding for the therapy abroad. So the issue mckenna argues is not whether proton beam therapy is going to be as effective but whether the patient benefit is enough to justify the extra cost.

So you would have to pay for this treatment or use private insurance if you have it. Researchers have unveiled designs for a facility intended to make cheaper more flexible proton beam therapy for cancer treatment a reality. At the moment proton beam therapy treatment is much more expensive than x ray therapy. For many cancers we know that conventional radiotherapy can be very successful and even curative.

Once lung cancer is diagnosed local techniques are generally used in the very earliest stage of lung cancer treatment. We are the only uk network of cancer centres to offer proton beam therapy in addition to conventional radiotherapy chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments alongside a range of supportive care services. Proton beam therapy is also available in private treatment centres in the uk. Clinicians biologists physicists accelerator.

This will help you decide whether to have proton beam therapy or another type of treatment. A small number of people in south wales may have proton beam therapy on the nhs at the rutherford cancer centre.