A cancer patient’s life expectancy is dependent on several factors, the most important of which are timely diagnosis and appropriate effective treatment.
New Jersey will now be home to the ProCure Proton Therapy Center, according to the Asbury Park Press.
The new facility, which opens in the Spring of 2012, is one of 10 proton therapy centers in the United States and is the only proton therapy facility in the New Jersey and New York metropolitan areas. ProCure, a privately held health care company, offers proton therapy to patients suffering from various cancers, including lung cancer, brain tumors, prostate cancer, central nervous system tumors, and neck and head tumors. The facility will soon be able to treat pancreatic cancer and perhaps even breast cancer. Unfortunately, blood cancers such as leukemia cannot be treated with proton therapy.
Proton therapy, as its name suggests, uses hydrogen protons as opposed to x-ray radiation, which are typically used with conventional radiation therapy. Radiation, though often effective in killing cancer cells, can cause damage to healthy tissue, and may result in illness and/or other short or long-term conditions. Proton therapy is a more targeted approach, which purportedly can minimize the damage to healthy tissue. The energy of the hydrogen protons is beamed directly into the tumor through a device called a cyclotron. By targeting the cancer source more accurately, proton therapy may better protect surrounding healthy tissues.
After a timely and correct diagnosis, prescribing the most effective cancer treatment is imperative to a patient’s recovery.
If you or a loved one suffers from cancer, which was incorrectly diagnosed, diagnosed too late, or not diagnosed at all, you may be entitled to pursue a medical negligence claim. At Blume Forte, our knowledgeable New Jersey cancer misdiagnosis attorneys are committed to helping our clients investigate and litigate their claims. Call us at 973-845-4421 to find out whether your claim may have merit.