When it comes to the heart and cancer treatment, balancing the effectiveness of cancer therapies with the preservation of heart function is essential to improving the long-term cardiovascular health of cancer patients. While the majority of cancer patients will not develop treatment-related heart problems, it’s important to learn about potential cardiac risks, preventive measures, and lifestyle modifications.

In recognition of National Medical Dosimetrist’s Day, Lea Rozgaja, senior certified dosimetrist at Texas Center for Proton Therapy shares about the day-to-day of her role and why working with cancer patients is meaningful to her.

Men aged 65 and older account for about 60% of all diagnosed prostate cancer cases. Proton therapy, an advanced form of radiation treatment, can treat new or recurrent prostate cancers with minimal exposure to healthy tissue. Texas Center for Proton Therapy offers a new imaging modality known as prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET to detect this disease in the earlier stages.

Pencil-beam scanning is an advanced form of proton therapy. Andrew Lee, M.D., MPH, discusses what to know about pencil-beam as a cancer patient and the benefits this leading-edge proton therapy treatment provides.

Head and neck cancers, commonly found around the throat, nose, and mouth area, make up about 4% of cancer cases in the U.S. today. Jared Sturgeon, M.D., Ph.D., discusses what to know about proton therapy as a head and neck cancer patient.

When navigating a cancer diagnosis, finding out you may need to travel for specialized treatment, such as proton therapy, can add an extra layer of stress. Whether it is finding a place to stay, way to commute to treatment, or group to connect with being away from home, any of these can be challenging to do while going through a difficult life transition.

Derek Smith serves as the technical imaging supervisor at Texas Center for Proton Therapy. Derek shares how his love for the health sciences led him to working in proton therapy and how he was in not one, but two movies alongside his family growing up.

Developing a list of resolutions – a life plan for the coming year – can help cancer patients envision their path forward, especially while undergoing treatment. Despite the physical and emotional challenges of cancer, it is possible to find a sense of renewal in the new year with a fresh outlook, a desire to try new things, or the urge to restart an old hobby.

Palliative medicine is a form of specialized care that aims to improve the quality of life for those with a serious illness. Proton therapy can be used as a form of palliative medicine. This highly-targeted form of treatment is non-invasive and effective in killing cancerous tumors throughout the body.

Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation therapy that destroys cancerous cells by delivering high-energy proton beams directly to tumors, while minimizing exposure to surrounding tissue.