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Article: The promise of Protons.(proton beam radiation therapy)
- Article from:
- Medical Update
- Article date:
- January 1, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A new treatment option offers hope to cancer patients and their families all too familiar with the debilitating complications of conventional surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Utilizing recent advances in technology, specialized centers are attacking certain cancers with a precise form of radiation treatment called proton beam radiation therapy. Studies show the outpatient therapy, which involves the use of fast-moving subatomic particles, has few or no side effects.
Physicists explain that protons are positively charged centers of hydrogen atoms. When accelerated to 70 percent the speed of light, these particles are effective in killing cells at the end of ...