Hi ConnieT!
I’ve had proton radiation in 2014/15, along with chemo, after I had surgery and intraoperarive radiation. I believe this treatment was the reason I’ve been cancer free since. At that time, there were a few reasons to have Proton Radiation such as a head and neck cancer recurrence. Now I believe it’s open as first line treatment in head and neck cancer.
I have Medicare Original and a Supplemental Plan, so it didn’t cost me anything plus it’s like double the cost of IMRT. I heard of a few patients having insurance difficulty then, but they were pushed through to get treatment! I didn’t go to a hospital for this treatment as the nearest place for Proton Therapy was at the Proton Center in NJ. Now they have another Proton Center at the hospital/cancer center. I’m actually in nyc, but it was worth it to get a daily ride to NJ to get treatment.
The Proton Center is amazing. It has a footprint of a football field to give one patient radiation at a time! My center had 3 or 4 rooms where they set up a patient, but it could only deliver radiation one at a time. It was silent, and lasted two minutes. Although the set up time could take double that of IMRT if it’s not IMPT that doesn’t need to be set up physically for each dose.
Below is the association of Proton Centers that could give you much more information plus the location of all the Proton Centers on the U.S. I hope this helps!
https://www.proton-therapy.org/