New 3D
imaging technology will make proton therapy the treatment of choice for many
cancer patients
Proton
therapy has the ability to deliver high doses of radiation just to a tumour
site with very little radiation being absorbed in healthy tissue. It is
particularly useful in treating cancer in children and tumours that are close
to the body's vital structures such as in the head or near the spinal cord. The
UK government has recently authorised the building of two new proton therapy
centres.