Apollo hospital launches proton cancer centre

The centre will offer proton therapy for patients with cancer, especially for the paediatric patients. They also offer a better treatment option when there are challenging cancer sites including tumours affecting the eye and brain, tumours close to the brain stem, spinal cord or other vital organs, head and neck cancers, deep seated abdominal and pelvic cancers, recurrent cancers. These cancers while being treated with conventional radiation therapy can damage the organs that are still growing in the case of young patients, or pose unacceptable risk to the patients

Talking to DT Next Dr Rakesh Jalali, Medical Director, Apollo Proton Cancer Center, said, “With no exit doors, protons a type of radiation technology, ensures that it doesn’t travel beyond the tissue it is treating. The surrounding structures do not have side effects like fibrosis, damage of IQ etc.”

He added that the game changer is the advanced multi-room proton therapy with cutting-edge pencil-beam scanning technology that provides the highest degree of precision.

He added that there will be three rooms but initially only one will be inaugurated and by the next one and a half years the remaining will become operational. “Ion Beam Applications, Belgium that has been setting 60 per cent of the facilities that have been operating in the world has been involved in this facility as well.” The team at the centre also has a competent physics team, added Dr Jalali. The facility is located on 100 feet Road, Taramani.