Children diagnosed with cancer are unique in many ways. They often face risks from cancer treatments that adults do not, including but not limited to, developmental delays, hormone deficiencies, and effects on bone growth. Because of treatment advances including radiation, pediatric cancer survival rates have increased significantly over several decades from 10% to nearly 90% today. Unfortunately, increased survival rates have resulted in many children experiencing significant long-term side effects including secondary cancers in healthy tissues that received unnecessary radiation during their treatment. Proton therapy can limit and reduce radiation doses to healthy tissues and organs while delivering curative doses to the cancer. This results in lowering children’s risk of experiencing harmful long-term side effects.
Proton Therapy for Kids
Proton Man
The Intrepid Proton Man was the brain child of Bill Hansen and his close friend Mike Jaszewski. Bill, a long term marketing executive in the proton therapy field and Mike, a well-known graphic designer, wanted to help children receiving proton therapy better understand proton treatments on their level in a fun but effective manner. They thought to themselves what better way to do that than with a comic book!
Pediatric Cancer Types Treated with Proton Therapy
Brain Tumors:
- Medulloblastoma
- Atypcial Teratoid Rhaboid Tumor (ATRT)
- Supratentorial Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (S-PNET)
- Pineoblastoma
- Ependymoma
- Cranopharyngioma
- Glioma
- Germ Cell Tumor
Head & Neck Cancers:
- Parotid Carcinoma
- Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Neuroblastoma
Retinoblastoma
Sarcomas:
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
- Leiomyosarcoma
- Lipsarcoma
- Fibrosarcoma
- Synovial Sarcoma
- Osteosarcoma
- Chondrosarcoma
- Ewing Sarcoma
Coloring Book
Dear Families, this coloring and activity book was created by the ProCure Proton Therapy Centers to help introduce your child to the proton therapy experience. We understand that radiation treatment can be stressful to your child and your family. With this book, your child will learn more about what to expect at the proton therapy center he or she may visit. Our goal is to help your child feel more comfortable with the experience, encourage them to ask questions — to you and their doctors or nurses — and talk about how they’re feeling.