Typically women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have to undergo surgery to remove the tumor, followed by conventional radiation therapy over the entire breast. As a result, they are forced to experience the many unpleasant side effects of traditional radiation treatment. With proton beam therapy, however, the beam is much more precise and can target the affected area without the need for radiation on the entire breast.

Vicki Ramirez, a breast cancer survivor who participated in the study at Loma Linda University, had this to say: “The hope that I wouldn’t have to have chemotherapy was very appealing.” Now she has been cancer-free for five years and couldn’t be more thankful for undergoing proton therapy.

The upcoming Provision Therapy Center in Knoxville, Tennessee is expected to cost somewhere between $120 million and $125 million, but the benefits will certainly outweigh the hefty price tag. Furthermore, the Provision center in East Tennessee will actually be far less expensive than other proton treatment centers in the country, such as the $225-million-dollar Hampton University Proton Treatment Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Price tag aside, these state-of-the-art treatment centers are truly changing people’s lives and allowing for a much more enjoyable experience for those needing to undergo cancer treatment. Hadley Ford, CEO and Director at ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc. in Bloomington, Indiana, accurately summed it up when he said: “The stigma of proton therapy being too expensive and too experimental has passed.”

Originally proposed by Knoxville businessman Terry Douglass, the request for the Provision Center for Proton Therapy was approved on a 9-0 vote and will serve as the first center of its kind in the state of Tennessee. There are currently nine proton therapy centers in the United States and four under construction.

Provision Health Alliance, in partnership with the University of Tennessee Medical Center, will construct a 43,000-square-foot building at the Provision Health Alliance located at the Dowell Springs office park. The new center is expected to treat around 700 patients each year.

Prostate cancer patients like Lewis usually decide in favor of proton treatment to avoid the worrisome side effects of conventional radiation therapy. However, proton therapy can also benefit children. Far too often, young boys or girls who have been diagnosed with cancer will experience terrible side effects from conventional radiation. But with proton therapy, those side effects are no longer a concern.

The ultimate goal of proton therapy is to destroy the cancerous cells without damaging the healthy ones. NBC’s Lewis is a prime example of a success story, since his cancer was cured after just nine weeks of proton therapy. He said, “Today, I feel great, and my 40 inch waistline is shrinking as I work on eating less and exercising more.”

For more information, call 800-protons (776-8667) or visit www.proton-therapy.org or www.protons.com

- Most precise form of radiation treatment available today. Destroys primary tumor site, leaves surrounding healthy tissue and organs intact and unharmed.

- Is non-invasive and painless. Maintains a patient’s quality-of life during treatment process as an out-patient. Patients continue with normal activities during treatment. Play golf, tennis, swim, walk, run, workout in a gym, or go on a “radiation vacation.”

- Avoids the usual side effects of standard x-ray radiation. Minimum to no side effects with protons.

- Protons can be used in conjunction with other cancer treatment modalities such as chemotherapy.

- Treatment time can take from one day for certain conditions or up to eight weeks (prostate cancer) depending on tumor sites.

- Highly preferred radiation treatment modality option for pediatric cases because children are susceptible to injury from standard x-ray radiation as their tissues and organs are growing rapidly. Children don’t have to be subjected to needless exposure from damaging radiation.