Proton Therapy

I haven't had proton therapy, but have asked a couple of my radiation oncologists about it as an option in the past.  I should qualify this by saying that the cancer center I go to does not have a proton cyclotron, so I'm open to the fact that since they use other technologies it may skew their answers.  I have done some additional reading on it, though.  My understanding is that it is a good technology and the ability of proton therapy to more precisely target a specific depth without damaging surrounding tissue is certainly a pro.  However, partially because of it's relative newness (there are only around 10 proton therapy centers in the U.S.), it is expensive, and in many cases, radiation oncologists believe they can achieve the same results with other technologies — in the brain, we're primarily talking about stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) — not only in achieving a good response, but also in sparing surrounding healthy tissue.  Additionally, and again, this part is my own understanding, the planning (how radiation oncologists and physicists map out and plan a full treatment) and setup for each session can be longer and more complex for proton therapy.  I'm not sure why that is or if that is more myth than reality, only what I've heard.  But because of that, I wonder if it affects the ability to treat multiple metastases per session.

I haven't had proton therapy, but have asked a couple of my radiation oncologists about it as an option in the past.  I should qualify this by saying that the cancer center I go to does not have a proton cyclotron, so I'm open to the fact that since they use other technologies it may skew their answers.  I have done some additional reading on it, though.  My understanding is that it is a good technology and the ability of proton therapy to more precisely target a specific depth without damaging surrounding tissue is certainly a pro.  However, partially because of it's relative newness (there are only around 10 proton therapy centers in the U.S.), it is expensive, and in many cases, radiation oncologists believe they can achieve the same results with other technologies — in the brain, we're primarily talking about stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) — not only in achieving a good response, but also in sparing surrounding healthy tissue.  Additionally, and again, this part is my own understanding, the planning (how radiation oncologists and physicists map out and plan a full treatment) and setup for each session can be longer and more complex for proton therapy.  I'm not sure why that is or if that is more myth than reality, only what I've heard.  But because of that, I wonder if it affects the ability to treat multiple metastases per session.

I haven't had proton therapy, but have asked a couple of my radiation oncologists about it as an option in the past.  I should qualify this by saying that the cancer center I go to does not have a proton cyclotron, so I'm open to the fact that since they use other technologies it may skew their answers.  I have done some additional reading on it, though.  My understanding is that it is a good technology and the ability of proton therapy to more precisely target a specific depth without damaging surrounding tissue is certainly a pro.  However, partially because of it's relative newness (there are only around 10 proton therapy centers in the U.S.), it is expensive, and in many cases, radiation oncologists believe they can achieve the same results with other technologies — in the brain, we're primarily talking about stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) — not only in achieving a good response, but also in sparing surrounding healthy tissue.  Additionally, and again, this part is my own understanding, the planning (how radiation oncologists and physicists map out and plan a full treatment) and setup for each session can be longer and more complex for proton therapy.  I'm not sure why that is or if that is more myth than reality, only what I've heard.  But because of that, I wonder if it affects the ability to treat multiple metastases per session.