- BY KATHY FINN | Special to The Advocate
Doctors in New Orleans and Baton Rouge are about to get a new weapon for fighting cancer, a technology that is one of the most cutting-edge, expensive and controversial ways of targeting cancer cells.
Known as proton-beam therapy, the technique is similar to the one scientists use to smash particles together in physics experiments. Protons are spliced from the nucleus of hydrogen cells, accelerated to tremendous speeds and then shot in the direction of malignant cells, killing them by damaging the DNA inside.
Proponents say it’s a more targeted way to do radiation therapy than traditional methods, sparing more of the healthy tissue near cancer cells. They argue it’s especially effective in fighting brain tumors and forms of cancer that afflict children.
But the technique has its critics. At a time when rising health care costs are one of the country’s biggest challenges, some health experts point out that using proton beams is also far more expensive than X-rays, while evidence of better outcomes is still scarce.
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