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University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute

Since cancers begin in different ways, are located in different parts of the body, and have different ways of spreading, cancer treatments come in several different forms. Some new cancer treatments, like Proton Therapy, eradicate tumors with fewer cancer treatment side effects.

Florida Proton Therapy Cancer Patients
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Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the number-one cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. In 2005, the number of new cases was 175,000. The most common cause of lung cancer is active smoking, but passive exposure to smoking can also cause lung cancer. For this reason, most public places and services now ban smoking or restrict it to certain areas.

Lung cancer usually begins in the cells lining the bronchi. Growth can continue for a long time without causing any symptoms. In time, the lung cancer may invade the wall of the bronchus, blood vessels, the esophagus, or nerves causing cough, hemoptysis (cough with blood), or pain. The cancer may obstruct the bronchus, a bronchiole, or blood vessels, causing shortness of breath, pneumonia or facial swelling.

Lung cancers can be detected with chest x-rays, computerized chest tomography (CT), or positron emission tomography (PET). A biopsy is required to confirm the diagnosis.

There are two basic common types of lung cancer: small cell carcinoma and non-small cell carcinoma. Local treatment is generally used in the very earliest stage of lung cancer, but combined therapy is typically recommended for more advanced disease. If the lung cancer is operable, surgery is the choice for local therapy. If the disease is not operable, then radiation therapy is used. It is difficult in lung cancers to deliver an optimal dose of radiation therapy without placing the patient at risk for normal tissue damage. Proton therapy offers the potential for higher cure rates and less toxicity because of a better radiation dose distribution. In the future, lung cancer is one of the diagnoses that may be treated with proton therapy at University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute.

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