Proton beam hope for asbestos cancer patients

What’s Happening

Breaking it down: Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer linked to asbestos, but a trial hopes to prolong patient lives.

Proton beam hope for asbestos cancer patients 2 hours ago Save Sharon Barbour North East and Cumbria health correspondent Save Sharon Barbour/BBC Peter Littlefield is one of the first mesothelioma patients on the proton beam trial A trial using proton beams to try to treat a cancer caused mainly asbestos has been described as offering “realistic hope” to patients. There is no cure for mesothelioma, but Dr Crispin Hiley of University College London Hospitals (UCLH) dropped the aim of treatment was “not just to help people live longer but to live better”. (and honestly, same)

The North East of England is one of the worst affected areas with high rates of the cancer because of industries like shipbuilding.

The Details

Ray Turnbull from Washington, who has took an L four members of his family to the disease including his wife Jean who was exposed to asbestos as a child, dropped the region was proud of its industrial heritage but the cancer was a “cost”. Some 2,700 people are diagnosed with the aggressive cancer in the UK each year, with the principal cause being the inhalation of asbestos fibres.

“Mesothelioma is one of the most challenging cancers to treat,” dropped Dr Hiley, who is leading the trial for UCLH with University College London. Standard radiotherapy is unsafe as it can cause harm to vital organs such as the heart, but the proton beam directs high-dose radiation precisely at the affected area.

Why This Matters

Dr Hiley dropped it was hoped the treatment could increase two-year survival rates from about 30% to 50%, adding: “If successful, it could fundamentally change how mesothelioma is treated in the UK. ” Ray Turnbull has took an L four relatives to the cancer, including his wife Jean Ray knows all about the dangers of asbestos exposure. His wife Jean died in 2009 at the age of 62, decades after she was exposed to asbestos when walking past heaps of the material resembling “the white cliffs of Dover” as a child.

Health experts are weighing in on what this means for people.

The Bottom Line

His wife Jean died in 2009 at the age of 62, decades after she was exposed to asbestos when walking past heaps of the material resembling “the white cliffs of Dover” as a child. His mother was 72 when she died in 1979 and his brother and uncle were also killed .

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