Pediatric Proton Responds to New York Times Opinionator Article

There was an article published in the New York Times yesterday.  You can read it here:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/it-costs-more-but-is-it-worth-more/

The Pediatric Proton Foundation responded as follows:

As the mother of a child that survived paralyzing spinal cancer at the age of 2 in part due to proton therapy, I feel compelled to respond to this article. As you indicate in your article, there is mounting evidence that protons will become the standard of care for cancer treatment for pediatric patients, especially when it comes to brain and spinal tumors. The problem for most parents is accessing proton therapy for their cancer-stricken child. With only 9 centers in the U.S., it often involves a temporary move for the family during the proton treatment which is often cost prohibitive (we traveled over 1,500 miles.)  Sadly, only 465 children received proton therapy in the U.S. in 2010, and as you indicate over 3,500 could have benefited. To solve this problem, we need to have more access for our children through more proton centers. I congratulate Mayo for making this important investment on behalf of all pediatric cancer patients, and I thank you on behalf of my son, now age 6, NED and healthy.