Atrium Health in Charlotte NC has Plans for a New Radiation Center, Offering Protons

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - “Atrium Health broke ground Thursday on a state-of-the-art facility that will bring two advanced radiation therapies to children and adult patients with complex tumors.

The facility will be a $69 million investment into the local community, as it becomes the first site to offer these treatment options in the Charlotte area. It will be constructed on Atrium Health’s midtown campus and around the corner from the soon-to-be-built Wake Forest School of Medicine – Charlotte and “The Pearl” innovation district. The center is expected to open in 2023, with gamma knife radiosurgery beginning mid-year and proton beam therapy beginning later that year.”

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Are Protons Right for Me?

MARCH 07, 2022

Author: Jasmine Brown

“After being diagnosed with cancer, many thoughts may run through a patient’s mind. One of those thoughts might be the question, “Should I seek a second opinion?”

“It’s common for patients to want to speak with another physician about their diagnosis,” said Omar Gayar, MD, radiation oncologist at the McLaren Proton Therapy Center in Flint, part of the Karmanos Cancer Network.

“The patient’s reasoning may not be just based on the shock they feel when they hear the word cancer, but patients also are looking for good news in light of the circumstance. Especially these days when treatments are better than they have been in the past. Patients are looking for a cure or a treatment that will allow them to continue to live a full life.”

Dr. Gayar specializes in treating and curing patients with conventional radiation therapy (X-rays) and proton therapy treatments. Proton therapy is a precise radiation treatment. Experts can deliver proton radiation to the tumor and designate where the dose needs to stop. This spares much of the healthy, surrounding tissue in comparison to conventional X-ray treatments.”

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Head Coach Ron Rivera and Denise Share their Stories of Proton Radiation Approvals

From NBC4 Washington, March 15, 2022

“For many families, cancer is the fight of their lives, but the News4 I-Team found some are having to endure another fight they never expected: getting their treatment covered by insurance.

Critics say the insurance industry is prioritizing money over medicine when it comes to a radiation treatment called proton therapy, which uses a beam of protons to target tumors more precisely than traditional photon radiation, so it's less damaging to the surrounding healthy tissue.

"I think that's something that people need to understand, that there is an alternative form of radiation treatment out there," said Ron Rivera, head coach of the Washington Commanders football team and an enthusiastic advocate for proton therapy.

Rivera credits proton therapy as a big part of saving his life. He underwent a month of treatments at a center in Northern Virginia following his diagnosis with neck cancer in 2020. The carcinoma manifested in a lymph node and the back of his throat.”

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Lung Cancer and Proton Radiation

From HealthLine.com

“Proton therapy is improving rapidly as more research comes out. The main advantage of proton therapy over traditional radiation therapy is that it causes less radiation damage to healthy tissues and fewer side effects.

The development of side effects is often a limiting factor for the amount of radiation therapy that can be delivered. A 2017 review suggests that by reducing the number of side effects, proton therapy may allow for a greater dose of radiation therapy to be administered. According to 2018 research, this may improve the survival rate.

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News from Israel on Utilizing Existing Radiation Rooms for Proton Therapy

By P-Cure Ltd Mar 25, 2022 Updated Mar 25, 2022

P-Cure in Israel developed a system intended for installations in existing radiation therapy rooms, targeting the largest radiotherapy market of equipment replacement

TEL AVIV, Israel, March 25, 2022

From PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --

“P-Cure Ltd., the provider of the most compact 360° gantry-less adaptive proton therapy system, announced today the opening of a clinical research and training site within its headquarters in Israel. The site is conveniently located in a 20-minute drive from either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem and hosts the world's most compact proton therapy system, which is installed within the footprint of a standard radiotherapy linac vault.”

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