Proton Therapy Offers Hope for Patients with Locally Advanced Stage III Breast Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and according to the American Cancer Society, more than 1.65 million new cases will be diagnosed in women in the United States just for the year 2015. In many cases the disease is treatable, but reducing the side effects to improve quality of life is an on-going endevour. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has recently awarded $11.8M to fund a clinical study at the SCCA Proton Therapy Center, comparing the effectiveness of traditional photon radiotherapy vs. proton therapy.

“Based on the outcomes of our patients, we have seen first-hand the benefits of proton therapy in sparing the surrounding healthy tissues and reducing side-effects,” said Ramesh Rengan, MD, PhD, the medical director of SCCA Proton Therapy and an associate professor of radiation oncology at University of Washington School of Medicine. “We are happy to be part of this important PCORI trial and hope it results in enabling others access to this advanced treatment.”

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