Southwest Floridians celebrated when Golisano Children’s Hospital opened in 2017. It meant local children could receive world-class, specialized health care close to home rather than traveling to children’s hospitals in Tampa and Miami. Today, the hospital is regularly honored by The Leapfrog Group, U.S. News & World Report and other ratings organizations as one of Florida’s top children’s hospitals, and its thriving hematology and oncology program is among just nine such state-recognized programs in Florida.
Today, parents of children with certain types of cancer are experiencing a similar sense of relief with the recent opening of Southwest Florida Proton, a state-of-the-art cancer treatment center in Estero.
Treating any type of cancer is difficult… treating pediatric cancer is especially challenging. The bodies of infants, children and teens are still developing, so it’s critical to target tumors with exceptional precision to help minimize damage to surrounding healthy tissue. That is why proton therapy has emerged as the preferred standard of care for many pediatric cancer patients. It reduces long-term side effects like growth issues, cognitive delays and development of secondary cancers associated with traditional photon therapy.
“Proton therapy is especially valuable for treating cancers located near critical areas, such as the brain, spine and eyes, where minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy tissue is crucial,” according to the National Association of Proton Therapy…