Proton Therapy Center Opens In Salt Lake City

Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation treatment that is making its way into the Mountain West. According to a report from the Salt Lake Tribune, the Senator Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City is the first of its kind in the region. 
Patients in Utah will no longer have to relocate to receive the treatment, which is less risky than the traditional photon treatment. Proton therapy also reduces side effects like nausea and may require fewer treatments.
 
Oncologist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute Matthew Poppe said that the facility will only be able to treat about 250 patients a year. Because this treatment is less risky than the traditional treatment, children will take priority.