Prostate Cancer Blog – Proton Therapy for Prostate Cancer

News about New Proton Centers

Posted by Jim Tuggey on June 13th, 2008 — Posted in General, Proton Facilities

Exciting news as West Chicago breaks ground for a new Proton center at Northern Illinois University on Thursday June 19th. “The Northern Illinois Proton Treatment and Research Center”.

This center will be close to the “Fermilab”, originally named the National Accelerator Laboratory, which was commissioned by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, under a bill signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on November 21, 1967. Founding Director Robert R. Wilson committed the laboratory to firm principles of scientific excellence, esthetic beauty, stewardship of the land, fiscal responsibility and equality of opportunity. The Universities Research Association built the laboratory, and has operated the facility under those principles since its founding.

Robert R. Wilson was credited as the key man in recognizing the medical potential for the “Proton” that is now used so successfully in treating many Cancers including Prostate cancer.

Progress University of Pennsylvania Robert’s Proton Therapy Center selected facts: (credit – U PA Information)

• First patients expected to be treated in the Summer of 2009
• Approximately 75,000 square feet, located in a mostly underground building interconnected to PENN’s Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine and PENN’s new, conventional Department of Radiation Oncology
• Center projected to treat 3,000 patients a year, including several hundred children, continuing the historically close relationship between UPHS and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Facility will be capable of supporting 14 stories above it for future expansion

The Robert’s Proton Therapy Center will be…

• The first such facility in the mid-Atlantic Region.
• The first in the world to be fully integrated, on-site, with a renowned cancer center, the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
• The first proton therapy center to be located on the campus of a world-class academic medical center, facilitating pioneering scientific research to measure and improve this innovative therapy.
• The first facility with precise imaging integrated onto the proton equipment, allowing physicians to know precise tumor location at the exact moment of treatment.

I was treated at Loma Linda for Prostate cancer in 1999. My free 9 year old web site is dedicated to informing men about Protons – www.prostateproton.com. I have been without side effects from Proton treatment whatsoever, for 8 years and nine months since being treated. Loma Linda is a key leader in Proton Therapy.
Jim Tuggey June 10, 2008

PROTONS in April 2008

Posted by Jim Tuggey on May 25th, 2008 — Posted in General

Culley C. Carson, MD, FACS, Esteemed Doctor at the University of North Carolina spoke on a Video regarding Quality of Life After Primary Treatment for Prostate Cancer. [ref: Medscape Urology Tue 4/15/2008.]

Dr. Carson’s video presentation is excellent, however he didn’t mention “Protons” and, what does that mean?

I don’t know, but I suspect that this distinguished Doctor’s entire experience has been with modalities other than Protons and evidently no one in his references looked at the nearly 10,000 men treated by Protons to date.

One of the men I recently met at Loma Linda says it best: “If it ain’t the product of a randomized, double-blind, peer-reviewed clinical trial, it ain’t medicine.”

I believe that no one in his right mind would submit to such a study once they knew about protons results as compared to the other options, especially reduced to No side effects.”

With the word about Protons rapidly spreading the near term dilemma may be how to meet the demand! (The next Proton Center on line will probably be the University of Pennsylvania effort next year.)

My Proton Alma Mater is already feeling the strain of more people learning about Protons. I believe research funding is too slow when this powerful and vital Proton tool is available for many cancer and benign tumors.

Recently some of our major new agencies focused on cost, but who has focused on the cost of continuous treatment for side effects relative to NONE? My friends and I believe that as new Proton centers come on line, cost will reflect market forces and reach lower plateaus.

The Proton is not going away – so stand by for the latest news and information stating where the new centers will be built.

Jim Tuggey
April 17, 2008

CONTRASTS

Posted by Jim Tuggey on March 25th, 2008 — Posted in General

One of my visits to a men’s prostate cancer support meeting resulted in listening to a few men talk about “What was the best diaper to wear?” post surgery. One great guy I met was talking about his “Brachytherapy” seeds implant and explained that they migrated and now he wears an “External Bladder”, well I was shocked as I never heard of that.

Reminds me how fortunate I was to find Loma Linda in 1999. Now, I have been without side effects whatsoever for 8 years and six months since being treated.

My Doctor at Loma Linda has this to say:
“When I treat a prostate cancer patient with protons, the total normal tissue dose is ~ 250% less than with sophisticated x-ray therapy.” He has treated over 6,000 men with Prostate cancer.

A recent CBS News article dated March 18, 2008 talks about the high cost of Proton equipment and at the same time misses completely the huge cost of follow up for almost every other treatment. They cite the new Proton effort at University of Pennsylvania to be up and running next year.

One doctor reminds us “The current Medicare reimbursement rates reflect the expense associated with developing this technology. This is not unique to proton therapy and has been applied to other emerging medical technologies. As the cost of the technology inevitably decreases, so will the cost of treatment.”

I AM A LAYMAN, NOT A DOCTOR. You are welcome to call me, send an e-mail to jjtug msn.com and I’ll provide a number – I have devoted over 3 hours each day to Protons since 1999 and my website receives about 6 – 8,000 hits each month.

Jim Tuggey
March 22, 2008

Protons Speak for Themselves

Posted by Jim Tuggey on February 9th, 2008 — Posted in General

• My latest talk on Protons was presented at Las Colinas Medical Center, In Las Colinas, Texas to an US TOO group meeting under the banner of National Cancer Institute on February 5th, 2008.
• US TOO is a network of hundreds of support group chapters for men with prostate cancer.

This information brief at 7 PM, Feb. 5th, was scheduled for 30 minutes with 15 for questions and lasted 90 minutes. This is the second time I have talked at this chapter and I always appreciate the opportunity. I always weaken my case a bit by starting with the following Caveat:

NO MEDICAL ADVICE: Material appearing here represents opinions offered by non-medically-trained laypersons. Comments shown here should NEVER be interpreted as specific medical advice and must be used only as background information when consulting with a qualified medical professional.

However, when we finish the Power Point presentation and bring Protons to everyone’s attention there are always two reactions.

One, the people who have already taken action are either 1) resigned to their decision, or 2) mad because no one told them about Protons.

Two, the men who are there to decide what to do, are almost always excited and happy. They are amazed to find that so many people have been treated with Protons, and the fact that I stand before them at 78 years old, eight years and five months since PROTON treatment with NO side effects.

This is an important information effort that I will pursue for the rest of my life.

Jim Tuggey
Feb. 10, 2008

MORE PROTON CENTERS

Posted by Jim Tuggey on December 31st, 2007 — Posted in General, Press, Proton Facilities

A 12/26/07 article in the New York Times, Cancer Fight Goes Nuclear, With Heavy Price Tag brought the Proton up front. Not all positive but all in all alerts a great number of people to the Proton capability.

Price seems to be the concern in this article; while *I* am sure that Curing Cancer should be at the forefront above all else!

Nothing will stop this important Proton therapy. ALL my systems work today, December 31, 2007. We now have two additional Proton Therapy Centers developing, an increase from the number just reported in my Blog of early December:

A second proton center in the heavily populated Chicago area

Central DuPage would like to see its first patient by 2010. Jim Spear, the hospital’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said it’s ready to break ground on its Winfield campus “the very day” of board approval. The hospital plans to spend about $140 million on its facility. “We have everything else in place,” he said. “All our financing is secured (from private investors). All our architectural plans for building the building are secured. We have equipment on order. So we’re technically in good shape to start. All we need is the proper approval by the planning board.” Central DuPage also is partnered with ProCure Treatment Centers Inc., a Bloomington, Ind.-based firm that specializes in developing proton therapy centers.

And, a Second Proton Center in Oklahoma City:

Bloomington, Ind.-based ProCure Treatment Centers is building a four-gantry proton center in far northwest Oklahoma City along the Kilpatrick Turnpike.

ProCure has said the cost of its Oklahoma City treatment center, the first of several, will approach $100 million. ProCure has also raised private investment capital to build its treatment centers.

My personal treatment has resulted in NO Side Effects from a NON-INVASIVE treatment with Protons over 8 years and four months ago.

Just diagnosed? Send me an e-mail at jjtug @ msn.com for information.

What’s Happening in the Proton World

Posted by Jim Tuggey on December 1st, 2007 — Posted in General

TOTAL AS SHOWN IN THE REPORT – 47,131 (Includes 9,116 as below)

NOTE: Harvard in conjunction with Mass. General Hospital started treatment in 1961, treating 9,116 people prior to moving to their new facility – Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center – Massachusetts General Hospital – Harvard, Boston, MA

All of these numbers are as of the Month and Year mentioned in the right column, Loma Linda at this time is well over 12,000 persons treated so the actual number is larger.

(All of the above under construction)

(All of the above extracted from the ptcog report for 2007.)

“Oklahoma City is about to get another significant tool in its medical toolbox, as Chris Chandler, senior vice president of sales and marketing for ProCure Treatment Centers, puts it.
ProCure, along with partners Radiation Medicine Associates (RMA) and Radiation Oncology Associates (ROA), said on Tuesday it will open the nation’s first private practice proton treatment center in 2009.
Chandler said a location and specific timeline for the center will be announced in March. The 55,000-square-foot facility is expected to cost more than $100 million to build and will have more than 100 full-time employees who will make in excess of $100,000 each. It will provide treatment to more than 1,500 cancer patients per year, and half of those will be from outside the metro area.” (Excerpted from their Press release.)

Hampton, VA – Hampton University has received the final approval needed to begin construction on the Hampton University Proton Beam Therapy Center, which will be used in the treatment of cancer. Approvals from the Eastern Virginia Health Systems Agency and the Virginia Department of Health led to the Center receiving the certificate of public need, a requirement for all major health-care projects in Virginia.
“This project will bring state-of-the-art cancer treatment to Virginia,” said HU President William R. Harvey. “The Hampton University Proton Beam Therapy Center will ease human suffering and save lives.”
Proton beam therapy is a type of radiation that can precisely target tumors while sparing surrounding tissue and causing far fewer side effects than traditional radiation. Currently there are only three other proton beam therapy centers operating in the country, located at Indiana University; Loma Linda Medical Center in Southern California and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. About 5,000 treatment slots are available at these three facilities.
The city of Hampton has donated six acres of land off Magruder Boulevard to Hampton University to construct the Proton Beam Therapy Center. Once construction begins, the $189 million Center will take 36 months to build.
The Center will treat about 2,000 patients a year and will focus primarily on prostate cancer but will also treat patients with breast, lung eye and pediatric cancers. (Excerpted from their Press release.)

There are other PROTON TREATMENT CENTERS in PLANNING leading to a Proton network that will greatly enhance the ability of our Doctors to treat Prostate Cancer and many other cancerous and non-cancerous conditions with little or NO side effects.

My name is Howard J. ‘Jim” Tuggey, it’s November 2007 and I’m cancer free!

Posted by Jim Tuggey on November 23rd, 2007 — Posted in General

I completed PROTON treatment on August 27, 1999, over eight years ago this past August 27th, 2007, for Prostate Cancer at Loma Linda University’s Proton Treatment Center, in California.

My admiration for Dr. James M. Slater is limitless. His work to establish a Proton Center at Loma Linda has resulted in a personal freedom from worry that I cannot express adequately. As of this writing I have no evidence of Prostate disease due to the wonderful Proton capability at Loma Linda. I have been so impressed that one objective occurred to me, to insure that I spread the word about “Protons” to as many men as I can in my remaining lifetime. In this regard, I have written every Senator and Congressional Representative twice, the first time in 2000. Now I am beginning the third round.

I cannot express the depth of my personal happiness when men and often their wives have walked up to me and said, “You have saved my life!” Of course, Protons have, not me; however I am happy that my Web site that receives as many as 10,000 hits a month, opening right after my final treatment has helped these men make a decision to go to Loma Linda. In fact, one of my best friend’s mother-in-law has had her sight restored by Proton treatment and the versatile and expert doctors who handle Proton treatment at Loma Linda.

My life has been changed by Dr. Slater’s efforts and through my professional relationship with the amazing Loma Linda staff who have guided me through the treatment and follow-up, the latest on November 14, 2007.

God Bless Dr. James M. Slater

Follow the Money….

Posted by Jim Tuggey on October 16th, 2007 — Posted in General

For your information, over $2 Billion has been spent or planned for existing sites or to build new Proton facilities at many US sites including:

Philadelphia, U of PA “Roberts Proton Therapy Center” Over $200mil Funded 2009
Hampton University Over $192mil Funded 2009
Northern Illinois University Unknown Planned 2010
Siteman Cancer Institute St Louis Unknown Planned
Oklahoma City Unknown Planned
Touro University, Mare Island CA. 1,200,000,000.00 Planned

Existing and operating Proton facilities (USA only – over 20 others exist worldwide) at a total cost of over $650mil:
• Loma Linda Proton Treatment Center – Loma Linda, CA (49 other body sites)
• Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute (MPRI) – Bloomington, IN
• Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center – Mass General Hospital – Harvard, Boston, MA
• M D Anderson Proton Therapy Center – Houston, TX
• Univ. of Florida Proton Therapy Facility – Jacksonville, FL

NEVER HEARD OF IT? THAT IS WHY WE TELL YOU ABOUT IT! – www.prostateproton.com. Talk to a Proton expert before you finalize your treatment decision.

Even though outcomes for the proton treatment equal or better any other approach with reduced side effects, all of these operating centers are spending millions on research and technical advances to expand the capability of the Proton.
Amazing is the fact that many men are still choosing to undergo invasive “Radical Prostatectomy”, invasive “Brachytherapy” or “X-ray Photon” procedures that damage non-targeted tissue.

Some day, this must change.

PROTONS KILL CANCER CELLS – I HAVE NO SIDE EFFECTS!

Posted by Jim Tuggey on September 10th, 2007 — Posted in General

I have completed eight years of a great life after being diagnosed with prostate Cancer in 1999 and treated in 1999 at Loma Linda Medical Center’s, Proton Treatment facility in Loma Linda, California, completing that treatment on August 27, 1999.

At the time of my treatment you could only find two USA facilities that could treat you for Prostate cancer with Protons. LOOK AT THE LINKS tab above.

SINCE THEN three other centers have opened and are fully functioning at Bloomington, Indiana, (Midwest Radiotherapy Center), Houston , Texas (MD Anderson’s Proton Treatment facility), and Jacksonville Florida’s Proton Institute.

HERE’S THE HISTORY:

Robert Wilson in a paper published in 1946 while he was involved in the design of the Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory (HCL). The first treatments were performed at Particle accelerators built for physics research, notably Berkeley Ca, in 1954 and at Uppsala in Sweden in 1957.

In 1961, a collaboration began between HCL and the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to pursue proton therapy. Over the next 41 years this program refined and expanded these techniques while treating 9,116 patients before the Cyclotron was shut down in 2002.

Following this pioneering work, the first hospital based proton treatment center in the United States was built in 1990 at Loma Linda University Medical Center, California (LLUMC), renamed the James M. Slater Proton Therapy Center. The Northeast Proton Therapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital (recently renamed the Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center), was next, to which the HCl treatment program was transferred in 2001-2002.

Over 44,000 patients have been effectively been treated with proton therapy worldwide. The University of Pennsylvania is slated to open the biggest proton therapy institute in the world (in the Center for Advanced Medicine) in 2009. See what Ms. Murer has to say about Northern Illinois University’s Proton plans.

Touro University on Mare Island near San Francisco plans to spend 1.2 billion dollars to open their new proton Center and others are planned.

Jim Tuggey
September 10, 2007

OVER 8,000

Posted by Jim Tuggey on August 3rd, 2007 — Posted in General

Loma Linda University Medical Center’s Proton Treatment Center passed the 8,000 Prostate cancers treated level with Protons; 8,108 treatments through June 30, 2007.

The other good news is that at Loma Linda over 12,000 people have been treated with Protons for 21 other body sites. The daily input will increase for Prostate Cancer treatment at LLUMC after a Robotic System installation for patient positioning is completed later this year.

Who is treating Prostate Cancer with Protons Today?

• Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, Calif.
• Francis H. Burr Proton Center, Boston
• Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute, Bloomington, Ind.
• MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
• University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute, Jacksonville , Florida

Who is developing Proton Facilities NOW?

• Northern Illinois Proton Therapy Facility
• University of Pennsylvania
• Hampton University in Virginia
• Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
• Oklahoma City
• Siteman Cancer Center – St. Louis, Mo.

Please check out this article: Proton Therapy: Cutting-Edge Treatment for Cancerous Tumors – worth your time.

I finish eight years on August 27th, 2007 cancer and side effects FREE!

Jim Tuggey
08/02/2007