What Can Proton Therapy Treat? Part 1: Lung Cancer

Lung cancer remains Australia’s leading cause of cancer death.
The most recent confirmed Cancer Australia figures show that 8,976 Australians died from lung cancer in 2023.

That number alone should make us ask whether Australians have access to every appropriate treatment option available.

When people think of proton therapy, they often think of children and adolescents. But lung cancer is one example of why proton therapy may also matter for adults.

The challenge with lung cancer is not only the cancer itself. It is where the tumour sits.

Lung tumours can be close to some of the most important and sensitive parts of the body, including healthy lung tissue, the heart, the oesophagus and the spinal cord.

Traditional radiation, often called photon or x-ray radiation, passes through the body. This means radiation can continue beyond the tumour and expose healthy tissue on the way out.

Proton therapy works differently.

Protons can be planned to stop at or near the tumour, which can reduce what is known as the exit dose. In some lung cancer cases, this may mean less unnecessary radiation exposure to the healthy tissue around the tumour.

The video link below explains this clearly using a lung cancer example.

It shows that both traditional radiation and proton therapy can provide strong tumour coverage. The difference is what happens beyond the tumour, and how much radiation reaches nearby healthy tissue.

Why does that matter? Because reducing unnecessary radiation exposure may help reduce side effects such as oesophagitis, which can make swallowing difficult, and pneumonitis, which is inflammation of the lung.
It may also help protect quality of life and nutritional status during what is already an incredibly difficult diagnosis and treatment journey.

This can be especially important for people who already have reduced lung function, are receiving chemotherapy and radiation together, have tumours close to critical structures, or have previously received radiation to the chest.
Proton therapy will not be right for every lung cancer patient.

But for some patients, particularly those with complex tumours or tumours near vital structures, it may be an important treatment option to consider.
Australians deserve to know what proton therapy is.

They deserve to know when it may matter.

And they deserve access to modern cancer treatment options here at home.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG74VnkYVxQ

Please note: Proton Cancer Access Australia has no affiliation with the makers of this video. We are sharing it for general education and awareness only.

Please also sign and share the petition calling on both the Federal and State Governments to make a decision and get Australia’s proton therapy project moving again.

For too many families, this is not an abstract policy issue. It is a potential lifeline.

Proton Cancer Access Australia
Educating. Advocating. Pushing for access.