Behind the Beam Q3 questions – Courtney Ichter, medical dosimetrist

Sarah Marchena, B.S., M.S., is a physics assistant at Texas Center for Proton Therapy. Sarah shares how she ended up pursuing a career in cancer care and the most important part of her role at the proton center.

Head and neck cancers comprise about 4% of cancer cases. By understanding the signs and symptoms of head and neck cancer and the advantages of proton therapy as a potential treatment option, healthy tissues may be spared, reducing the risk of complications and improving long-term outcomes for patients.

Chekesa Brashear is a lead radiation therapist at Texas Center for Proton Therapy. Chekesa provides a glimpse into what her day-to-day role entails and what working with cancer patients has taught her about the resiliency of the human spirit. 

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.