News and Blog

Jul

Casey’s Story Part 2: Preparing for Treatment

Casey is a two time breast cancer survivor and care coordinator at Provision CARES Proton Therapy Knoxville. She answers phone calls and helps answer the questions of cancer patients every day, but with her experience on both sides of the phone, Casey is offering readers a unique perspective as someone who has been both a patient and someone who helps patients. To meet Casey, you can read part one of her blog series, Casey’s Story: Learning she has cancer for a second time

After all my tests and scans were complete, it was definite. Dr. Brig, my medical oncologist, told me I would have radiation therapy as part of my treatment protocol to make sure I never see this breast cancer again. My doctor knew that I know how important of a role proton therapy will play in my life with left sided breast cancer. Was I excited to undergo 34 radiation treatments? Not at all. Was I anxious about the possible side effects and time involved? I knew I would be tethered to Knoxville for the next 6.5 weeks, with only weekends off in between treatments. I mean, several months ago, I actually had a life! I regrouped and breathed a sigh of relief because I knew I would be in good hands at Provision.

A consult with one of our radiation oncologists is always the first step. A care coordinator that I have worked with for the past 2 years quickly gathered all my medical records and set me up to see Dr. Ben Wilkinson who spent time with me explaining how many fractions (treatments) of radiation I needed and how it may affect the skin around my left breast and axilla area, as well as my fatigue levels throughout treatment. He reassured me that he would be checking me weekly, right after one of my treatment days. Brittany, one of our awesome nurse practitioners, would also check my skin regularly. No stone would be unturned. If I needed anything, I knew who to ask.

Very shortly after consult I had what is called a CT Simulation. This is essentially a scan of your body to provide the contours needed for treatment planning. It took about an hour which was a bit longer than I expected in a slightly uncomfortable position with my arms above my head and lying flat on the table. Kerry, one of our incredible radiation therapists, made this procedure seamless for me. Not only is she an expert at what she does but she cares…and shows it in her disposition and heart-warming smile. A physicist, Sammie, was also present to help with body positioning and placement. We all know Sammie to be brilliant, energetic, beautiful and funny. She was one of many who would be making sure I never see breast cancer again.

After CT Simulation, I waited. I waited for these committed, hardworking, all knowing people behind closed doors of Provision Cares Proton Therapy to plan my treatment. They are a team of radiation oncologists, dosimetrists, physicists and radiation therapists. Not your average run of the mill people, but exceptionally trained and smart folks. All of whom are working on a treatment plan for me to be able to continue living my best life. It is truly humbling to me to be surrounded by such intelligence and excellence. It is fun too…. we laugh a lot at work and we appreciate each other. Not a bad gig for this girl. I love coming to work.

In the meantime, I patiently waited for my start date and appreciated all the hard work that brought me to this point in my interaction with Provision from a patient’s viewpoint. Many, many people got me to this point. The Finance/Insurance teams who work tirelessly to verify insurance benefits and fight for coverage….the Concierge team who coordinate countless appointments and make sure you as a patient are up to date on where you are supposed to be and what time….and our fabulous Hospitality team who treat you and your family members like guests in their home. What we call our “Culture of Care” is experienced in all facets of care at Provision. We know it is a hard time…a scary and challenging time, for many patients and their loved ones. We want our patients and their families to feel respected and cared for. I always smile when I peek downstairs at our lobby and see patients having coffee and chatting…after their treatment is finished. It is a beautiful thing. The next step for me? Starting my treatments.

To continue to follow my journey and read updated blog posts, please follow Provision on Facebook.

Jul

Upcoming Events: Prostate Cancer 101: Understanding the Journey Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survival

By Provision Admin

Join us for a free presentation to learn more about the latest developments in prostate cancer. Dr. Wilkinson will discuss the most advanced diagnostic tools and current trends in treatment including multiparametric MRI, genomic classification, when to use active surveillance, and how to preserve quality of life after a prostate diagnosis.

Friday, July 26th from 930-11a and Friday August 23rd from 930-11a

Hosted by: Provision CARES Proton Therapy Knoxville, 6450 Provision CARES Way, Knoxville, TN 37909

RSVP: To reserve your seat, please RSVP to Jenni Turner at 865.321.4539 or jenni.turner@provisionhp.com

Jun

Proton therapy for treating left-sided breast cancer plays a crucial part in sparing damage to your heart.

By Provision Admin

As with other cancers, the best possible outcomes for breast cancer treatment come through early breast cancer care. However, if breast cancer is diagnosed, treatments can include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, surgery, and radiation. As there is not one perfect formula to eliminate the disease, many patients will need to undergo a combination of these treatment methods.

When it comes to radiation therapy, it is important to know your options and which type of radiation treatment is best for you.

Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation therapy that is noninvasive and precisely targets your tumor using a single beam of high-energy protons to kill cancer cells. Proton therapy’s unique characteristics as a positively charged particle can precisely deposit radiation directly in the cancerous tumor with no exit dose. Both x-rays and protons damage cancer cells, but unlike standard radiation therapy, proton therapy deposits the majority of the radiation dose directly into the tumor. This spares nearby healthy tissues and organs from receiving unnecessary radiation, thus reducing damaging side effects and complications, compared to conventional radiation.

This is especially important in left-sided breast cancer, as the cancer is close to critical organs such as the heart and the lungs.

According to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine, women who have received breast cancer radiation treatment via x-rays face a 0.5% to 3.5% higher risk for heart attack or other cardiovascular issues. The risk is highest among women who’ve had conventional radiation to the left breast because of the target’s close proximity to the heart.

A European study in The New England Journal of Medicine revealed that the harmful cardiovascular effects typically begin to emerge as soon as five years after cancer radiation treatment.

With proton therapy treatment for breast cancer, on average, there is no radiation to the heart and 50% less radiation to the lung as compared with conventional radiation.

Furthermore, a 2014 clinical trial by Loma Linda University found that 90% of proton therapy cases result in “good: to “excellent” cosmetic result for partial breast radiation patients during the five years following treatment.

Proton therapy is extremely precise and therefore more effective at targeting cancerous cells without causing damage to surrounding breast tissue. Proton therapy is not a substitute for a lumpectomy and works with other modalities such as chemo-therapy and surgery. Rather, it is used as an alternative to conventional radiation therapy. After surgery a breast cancer patient may receive 2-6 weeks of proton therapy.

For left-sided breast cancer patients, this could be the key to a healthier life after treatment.

Jun

Casey’s Story: Learning she has cancer for a second time

By Provision Admin

I have always considered myself a normal girl with a fairly normal life. Married to a great guy. I am healthy and active with 3 kids and a precious granddaughter who, along with my husband, are the loves of my life. We have lived in Knoxville for the past 18 years and feel blessed to have found this great part of East Tennessee to work, raise our kids and find wonderful friends. I have been working at Provision for two years now as a Care Coordinator, a position that I feel very comfortable with since I am a breast cancer survivor and can easily empathize with the patients. Recently, after two years at this job I love, I was again diagnosed with breast cancer. Although I have never blogged a day in my life, when presented with the opportunity to share my journey and my point of view from both sides of treatment, I thought it would be another way to help others facing cancer and radiation therapy – and for that reason, I was all in.

In 2012, while busy raising my then young teenagers, I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. My particular diagnosis required a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction, and subsequent chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Relatively straightforward and at times challenging, but doable.

As a Care Coordinator, we are often the first person an individual who has been newly diagnosed with cancer or a concerned family member or friend speaks with when they call Provision CARES Proton Therapy for information. Almost always, this person is anxious, scared and uninformed about their illness. We do our very best here at Provision to provide a compassionate ear while collecting patient records and facilitating a consult date so that our radiation oncologists, clinical nursing and radiation therapy teams can address the patient’s treatment needs in a timely manner.

To hear for the second time in 6 years, “you have breast cancer” is enough to rock anyone’s world. I heard this news in the fall of 2018. Now, this mom of 3 children and one beautiful 6-year-old grandchild, was full of shock, fear and dread of what was in my immediate future: a whole lot of treatment that would NOT BE FUN and would cause me to again, lose my hair and my energy. And then maybe eventually… my life. We knew nothing at this point only that here we were AGAIN. It was a very dark time for my family. And for me.

Once the shock wore off, the Care Coordinator part of me began to surface. I knew immediately what I had to do to combat this disease for the second time. After a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction in 2012, along with chemotherapy, I realized that radiation therapy would be in my immediate future. Recurrent breast cancer requires and arsenal of incredibly bright practitioners, along with state-of-the-art drugs and treatment. I knew right away that with left sided breast cancer, Proton Therapy is the recommended treatment in order to spare the heart and lungs from unnecessary radiation exposure. I knew that we (Provision) had a brilliant clinical team and a caring and conscientious support staff, state of the art technology and extensively trained radiation therapists.

This was not going to be a sprint…. but more of a marathon. As a former triathlete of 30+ years, I tend to think of things in segments or parts. Chemotherapy was the swim portion of the race. I hated getting in the pool, but knew I had to put the time in. Biking is fast and deliberate, and I related that to my surgery. Let the surgery be seamless and without complications (no bike wrecks). Get that cancer outta there! The last part of a triathlon is the running segment and I compare that to my upcoming radiation treatments. At this point you are tired and simply want a cold drink and some shade. But one must push on at this point and finish strong. Just like you surround yourself with training partners you trust and who make you feel good about your efforts, the same is true for your radiation treatment team.

I knew, without a doubt, that I would be well taken care of at Provision from start to finish. With all of this in mind, I also feel that everyone’s cancer journey is different. In this series of blogs, I’m sharing a little peek into my journey which I hope will give you or a loved one faced with a cancer diagnosis some peace of mind and maybe a smile along the way.

To continue to follow my journey and read updated blog posts, please follow Provision on Facebook.

Jun

New Study confirms proton therapy results in fewer side effects for many cancers.

By Provision Admin

In the largest side-by-side comparison study of its kind, proton therapy was found to have fewer side effects while maintaining similar survival rates when compared to traditional X-ray radiation therapy.

The study, led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, included almost 1,500 patients receiving combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy for lung, brain, head and neck, gastrointestinal and gynecologic cancers that were localized to one part of the body and had not metastasized. A combination treatment of chemotherapy and radiation therapy is a standard treatment leading to cure for many non-metastatic cancer. However, it is common for patients of this treatment regimen to experience severe side effects that can significantly reduce quality of life and in some cases require hospitalization, trading cure for side effects.

Proton Therapy is an advanced form of radiation therapy that uses protons to deliver the radiation directly to the tumor. Protons are positively charged particles that have a unique characteristic allowing more of the radiation dose to be directly deposited at the tumor. There is minimal entrance dose and no exit dose, significantly reducing radiation received to nearby healthy tissue and organs when compared to X-ray therapy that uses photons which travel all the way through the body and pass through healthy tissue on the way out. Both proton and X-ray radiation therapy are FDA approved.

According to the research, after controlling for differences between the groups, such as age and additional medical problems, the researchers found that patients receiving proton therapy experienced a two-thirds reduction in the relative risk of severe side effects within 90 days of treatment, compared with patients receiving X-ray radiation therapy. “We looked at grade-three side effects—including pain or difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing, nausea, or diarrhea, among others—often severe enough for patients to be hospitalized,” says the study’s lead author Brian Baumann, an adjunct assistant professor of radiation oncology in the Perelman School of Medicine and an assistant professor of radiation oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Our clinical experience is that concurrent chemoradiation therapy patients treated with protons, rather than photons, tend to have fewer side effects. While there is some literature supporting that finding for several disease sites, we did not expect the magnitude of the benefit to be this large.”

Furthermore, the researchers found no difference between the two groups in survival, suggesting that proton therapy was just as effective in treating the cancer even as it caused fewer side effects. Overall survival at one year for the proton therapy group was 83 percent of patients versus 81 percent for the X-ray radiation therapy group.

To learn more about the benefits of proton therapy, visit our proton benefits page.

Source: Baumann BC, Mitra N, Harton JG, Xiao Y, Wojcieszynski AP, Gabriel PE, Zhong H, Geng H, Doucette A, Wei J, O’Dwyer PJ, Bekelman JE, Metz JM. Comparative effectiveness of proton therapy versus photon therapy as part of concurrent chemo-radiotherapy for locally advanced cancer. American Society of Clinical Oncology poster session. June 1, 2019.

May 8, 2019

Mason Strong: One teenage boys fight against pediatric brain cancer brings together an entire community.

No parent wants to hear that their child has cancer. Unfortunately, those were the words Ginger and Richard Cobble, parents of son Mason Cobble, 16, heard on Tuesday February 26, 2019. Mason is a sophomore at Walker Valley High School in Cleveland, TN and an overall healthy child. On Friday morning, February 22^nd of 2019, Mason had a seizure and was later diagnosed with Glioblastoma multiforme GBM, a rare brain cancer in children. He immediately had surgery to remove the tumor followed by proton therapy radiation at Provision CARES Proton Therapy Knoxville.

Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation therapy that can be used in conjunction with pencil beam scanning technology. The combination allows radiation oncologists to precisely target the tumor, minimizing the dose of radiation received to nearby healthy tissues and organs. Because children and adolescents are growing, their tissue is more sensitive to radiation and its potential for negative side effects. The American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) ranks using proton therapy to treat solid tumors in pediatric patients with the highest importance (ASTRO Model Policy, 2014). For Brain tumors, proton therapy can minimize negative side effects that include developmental delays, hearing loss, damage to salivary glands and hormone deficiencies.

A recent study presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology Congress (ESTRO) compared three types of radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumors and found that in pediatric brain tumors, pencil beam scanning proton therapy consistently delivered the lowest amount of radiation to the hippocampus and temporal lobes, areas of the brain that are vital for memory function. Laura Toussaint, a PhD student in the Department of Medical Physics, presented the study and said, “alongside surgery and chemotherapy, radiotherapy plays an important role in treating brain tumors in children, but we need to protect children’s developing brains from unnecessary radiation. The more we learn about how to effectively target brain tumors while minimizing the dose to other parts of the brain, the better we can preserve children’s cognitive abilities and quality of life after treatment.”

After seeking the opinion of several medical professionals, Mason Cobble started proton therapy treatment at Provision CARES Proton Therapy Knoxville. In a post on the Team Mason Strong Facebook page, Mason’s mom Ginger Cobble said, “It is such a blessing that Provision Proton Radiation Therapy is in Knoxville. So thankful we get to treatment so close to home.” The Chattanooga and Cleveland Tennessee community has pulled together to support Mason in his fight against cancer. His story has been featured in the Cleveland Banner, on News Channel 9, on area radio stations and other media outlets.

On Wednesday May 8, 2019 Mason rang the bell as he graduated from his treatment at Provision CARES Proton Therapy Knoxville. He still has a fight ahead of him with more chemotherapy treatments and participation in a clinical trial at Duke, but the staff at Provision is thankful for him and are #TEAMMASONSTRONG.

May

Celebrating Nurses Week 2019

By Provision Admin

Content and information were written in conjunction with Lindsay Chandler, RN, BSN, OCN Nursing Manager for Provision CARES Proton Therapy Knoxville

May 6^th-12th is a week of excellence for every nurse, and marks a time to acknowledge accomplishments, compassionate patient care and professionalism for the nursing society. The conclusion of Nurses Week is May 12^th, in honor of the mother of nursing, Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale was born on May 12^th, 1820, and she was the innovator of modern nursing. It was through her teaching, compassion, leadership and influence, that the world of nursing has evolved into what it is today.

2019 itself is a hallmark celebration for the nursing community. There are over 4 million Registered Nurses in the United States of America, and registered nurses comprise the largest group in healthcare! The American Nurses Association created the tagline for this year’s National Nurses Week is “4 Million Reasons to Celebrate” which is a nod to nurses’ sheer numbers and an open invitation to #ThankaNurse for enriching our lives and the world we live in.

May is also Oncology Nurse Month. As a cancer treatment facility featuring proton therapy, Provision CARES Proton Therapy Centers would also like to take a moment to highlight the role of the Oncology Nurse. Oncology Nurses care for people of all ages who are diagnosed with cancer. Oncology nurses provide support not only to patients, but their caregivers and families during an especially stressful time in their lives. An Oncology Nurse can gain knowledge through professional development and complete an examination to become an Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN). This certification signifies that a nurse has the knowledge and proficiency to care for patients with the diagnosis of cancer and marks a level of high achievement in the Oncology community.

Please join us in recognizing all the compassion and dedication our amazing nursing team provides at Provision Cares Proton Therapy Center. Our nursing team is responsible for documenting detailed health assessments for patients newly diagnosed with cancer, providing patient education founded on evidence-based practice, providing recommendations for screenings and follow up suggestions for abnormal values to ensure early intervention, administering medications, assisting in procedures, utilizing assessment skills and critical thinking to triage and identify acute or emergent conditions, participate in interdisciplinary team rounds to provide the highest quality of patient care.

Provision would like to acknowledge nurses throughout our country and how they influence and inspire as they practice their art of healing. Happy Nurses Week 2019!

Apr

Prostate Cancer 101: Understanding the Journey Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survival

By Provision Admin

Thursday, May 9th at 6:30pm or Friday, May 17th at 9:30am

Hosted by: Provision CARES Proton Therapy Knoxville, 6450 Provision CARES Way, Knoxville, TN 37909

RSVP: To reserve your seat, please RSVP to Jenni Turner at 865.321.4539 or jenni.turner@provisionhp.com

Apr

Provision Team Members Participate in the National Association of Proton Therapy Convention

By Provision Admin

The National Association for Proton Therapy (NAPT) held its seventh annual proton conference March 24-27, 2019, at The Biltmore Miami – Coral Gables, in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1990, the National Association for Proton Therapy is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to work collaboratively to: (i) raise awareness of the therapeutic benefits of proton therapy among patients, providers, payers, policymakers, and other stakeholders, (ii) ensure patient choice and access to affordable proton therapy, and (iii) encourage cooperative research and innovation to advance the appropriate and cost-effective utilization of proton therapy. The annual conference allows proton centers from across the Unites States to convene and discuss how to advance awareness of the clinical benefits of proton therapy for cancer patients, provide education, and advocate for insurance coverage.

This year, almost 300 physicians, nurses, therapists, proton therapy directors, managers and others involved with or interested in learning more about the cutting-edge therapy attended the conference. The 2019 program covered a variety of interesting and informative topics including: pediatrics, marketing, legislation, insurance and appeals, and clinical updates. Keynote speaker Barbara L. McAneny, MD, President of the American Medical Association, Anne Hubbard, Director of Health Policy for the American Society for Radiation Oncology, and guest speaker Senator Marco Rubio, all described the important role and impact of proton therapy in cancer care and the medical field at large from perspectives beyond those of proton providers. It was encouraging to hear proton therapy is gaining powerful advocacy and allies in positions within the medical field as well as in the upper levels of government.

Provision entities were represented by twelve attendees. Provision representatives participated as presenters and facilitators for several of the conference breakout sessions. Rebecca Bergeron, Dr. Ben Wilkinson, Jenni Turner, Elizabeth Vanzo, Nancy Howard, Niek Schroeder, and Laddie Derenchuk were all members of panel discussions and gave presentations on topics ranging from legislation and technical developments, to clinical best practices, patient interactions, and collaboration. This level of participation by Provision representatives further demonstrates Provision’s place as an industry leader.

In addition to the presentations, discussions, and panels, George Laramore, MD, PhD, FACR, FASTRO, of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Proton Therapy Center and the University of Washington, was awarded the 2019 NAPT Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his decades of pioneering work in the field of particle therapy. In announcing the award, NAPT Executive Director, Scott Warwick, stated “Dr. Laramore has brought honor and distinction to the field of particle therapy and we are grateful for the opportunity to award him for his endless dedication and perseverance to serve cancer patients across the country and the world.”

The NAPT announced that the 2020 National Proton Therapy Conference will be held April 25-29 in Nashville, TN at The Renaissance Hotel. Provision CARES Proton Therapy Nashville will host a Reception and Tour April 27^th. Nancy Howard, Vice President Marketing & Public Relations of Provision Solutions, will act as the 2020 Conference Chair.

The National Association for Proton Therapy is the voice for the proton community. As there are now 31 Proton centers in operation and 35 centers under construction or in development, it is important for all proton centers to form a strong alliance to advocate for patient access to proton therapy. NAPT is the vehicle that will lead our alliance forward.

Mar

National Doctors’ Day: Meet The Doctors of Provision CARES Proton Therapy Centers

By Provision Admin

In honor of National Doctors’ Day this Saturday, March 30, Provision would like to take a moment to honor and celebrate the excellent care that our physicians provide. This annual event was first recognized in 1933 on the anniversary of the first time general anesthesia was used in surgery and became an official national holiday in 1990.

In Knoxville, we celebrate three doctors providing advance cancer treatment to our patients.

Dr. Ben Wilkinson, MD is a Radiation Oncologist and Medical Director for Provision CARES Proton Therapy Knoxville. Dr. Wilkinson joined Provision from Willis-Knighton Cancer and Proton Therapy Center in Louisiana. During his time in Louisiana, he served as an assistant professor of radiation oncology for LSU School of Medicine where he taught medical students, residents and fellows. He has also authored or co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed manuscripts, review articles, and book chapters. Dr. Wilkinson is committed to community outreach and was named a More Than Pink Hero by the Susan G. Komen Foundation. He is a board member for Radiating Hope, a non-profit that provides radiation treatment equipment to developing countries including Panama, Senegal, and Nepal.

Dr. Allen Meek, MD is also a Radiation Oncologist as well as Medical Director of Provision Medical Group. Dr. Allen Meek comes to Knoxville from Long Island, New York where he was the Founding Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Stony Brook University Medical School and a Professor for over 28 years. While in New York, Dr. Meek received numerous awards, including Top Doctors in New York and Best Doctors in the USA, along with awards for Humanitarianism and Environmental Stewardship. Also, he was just recently recognized as a 2012 U.S. News and World Report Top Doctor and one of the Best Doctors in America® for 2014.

Dr. Robert Lavey, MD, M.P.H is a Radiation Oncologist for Provision CARES Proton Therapy Knoxville. Dr. Lavey has been board-certified in Radiation Oncology since 1988. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and earned his Doctorate in Medicine from Stanford University. He completed his residency in radiation oncology at Duke University and was awarded National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Stanford University Department of Medicine and the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. Dr. Lavey has advanced the treatment of cancer as the Principal Investigator or Radiation Oncology Coordinator of 15 internationally conducted clinical trials sponsored by the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI). He held leadership roles in three NCI-funded international cooperative clinical trial groups. He has written 40 peer-reviewed scientific articles in medical journals and 24 chapters in oncology textbooks.

In Nashville, we celebrate our two doctors providing proton therapy cancer treatment to our patients.

Dr James R. Gray, MD, FACRO is the Medical Director for Provision CARES Proton Therapy Nashville. Dr. Gray studied biomedical engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, graduating with highest honors. He then studied medicine at Vanderbilt University on a scholarship with the US Navy. After discovering his fascination with oncology and radiation therapy, he trained in radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and was the recipient of a Clinical Oncology Fellowship from the American Cancer Society. He has also initiated and been involved in local and multi-institutional clinical trials, and has authored or co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters and abstracts, including presentations at national meetings. He has been active in the American Cancer Society at the regional level and has been recognized with the local John C. Tune Award and the St. George National Award.

Dr. James Zhu, MD PhD is a Radiation Oncologist at Provision CARES Proton Therapy Nashville. Dr. Zhu majored in electrical engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, and then finished his PhD in biomedical engineering. Dr. Zhu received his medical education at the University of California in San Diego. During his residency in radiation oncology at the University of Florida, Dr. Zhu went through rigorous training to use proton therapy as an integral part of the residency curriculum. As an established researcher, his work has been published in multiple peer-reviewed medical and engineering journals and presented at many national and international conferences. He was a chief resident and honored with the Radiological Society of North America (RNSA) Roentgen Resident Research Award.

Proton Therapy can treat multiple types of cancers including prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, head and neck cancer and many other solid-tumor based cancers. Our physicians not only offer high quality diagnostic and treatment services, they are advancing cancer care through commitment to research, multidisciplinary collaboration, and community outreach. To all our doctors, thank you for all you do for our patients and our community!