How Particle Accelerators Are Used to Cure Cancer - with Simon Jolly

wbcgaruss
wbcgaruss Member Posts: 2,451 Member
edited April 2023 in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hello fellow survivors. As a mechanic, I am always interested in what is behind the scenes, and what makes it work. If you are like me or just a person that likes informative videos and seeing amazing things you may be interested in this slightly less than one-hour video presented by Simon Jolly. It is of course about Proton Therapy which some of you may have had but this is an in-depth view. He starts out explaining the fundamentals of cancer and continues through to the proton machines, how they are made, and how they work and he keeps it interesting. It is the huge size and monetary investment and complex systems needed to make this a reality for cancer patients today that amazes me. This is an interesting video for the average person, techies, and mechanics alike. Proton therapy is used especially for head & neck cancer but also many other cancers and surprisingly a lot for children to avoid damage to developing young ones which is covered near the end for a real-life case of a little girl. Please take a look.

Take care, God Bless-Russ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YnQkUWTS64


Comments

  • christos01
    christos01 Member Posts: 7 Member
    #2

    Believe this is going to be standard care for head and neck cancer treatment. Had a chose to pursue photon in New York City. Just didn’t know if I could do the commute daily not knowing the side effects of my chemo. It would also need to approved by insurance and I felt I was running out time because they could t’ find the primary and I could see my lymph node increasing in size weekly. I’m doing IMRT VMAT currently. Would love to hear people’s experiences with proton.

    Happy Easter, god bless

    Christos

  • christos01
    christos01 Member Posts: 7 Member
    #3

    *choice I meant

  • wbcgaruss
    wbcgaruss Member Posts: 2,451 Member
    #4

    Christos, welcome to the forum. I think you are right Proton Therapy will become more the standard of care for H&N cancer. It is another tool and one that will be utilized more as it becomes available in more locations. It certainly would have been used more in the past in many situations. I think it will have to be considered on a case-by-case basis but I agree treatment with radiation will be leaning more toward Proton Therapy as there are many functions in the head and neck area that take collateral damage from treatments. I think you will be OK with the radiation you are receiving, many before you have had the same thing, and since it is your first and hopefully your last cancer. Also, no matter which kind of radiation you get they still limit the dose to enough to get rid of the cancer but not overdo it to avoid damage to surrounding areas and they can aim it somewhat to still hit the tumor for coverage but not involve more than necessary. I was in your shoes somewhat when I needed radiation for the second time I had a choice to make. They wanted me to get Proton Therapy and I would have gladly gotten it but I was not long out of a 36-day hospital stay and a follow-up 10-day stay at a hospital rehab facility before coming home. I would have had to make a journey 30 times for Proton Therapy because it was not offered locally and I knew I was just not yet up to it. I was Blessed though because my local cancer center where I had treatments for my first cancer was able to use their Cyberknife Radiation and give me the radiation needed and could aim it better to avoid my throat and swallowing.

    Take Care, God Bless-Russ

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