Proton Mom Dot Com is Born!

I was so fortunate to be able to serve as the moderator of the Pediatric Proton Panel on Tuesday, February 12th at the National Association for Proton Therapy's first annual conference in Washington, D.C. Thank you Len Artz for inviting me to be a moderator at your very first conference! My pediatric panel was outstanding and included:

Dr. Daniel Indelicato, University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute
Dr. Anita Mahajan, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Proton Center
Dr. Andrew Chang, Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute
Dr. Kevin McMullen, Indiana University Health Proton Therapy Center

I can't even begin to describe the variety of information we discussed in our hour long session and as soon as the video is ready I will post it here.  There was a lot of great information shared among our professionals and again as I said in the beginning, "a dream come true for this Mom."  

From all this a new name has emerged, Proton Mom, and that is after another inspiring encounter with Proton Bob.  Bob was at the conference also and his group recently completed a comprehensive survey from prostate patients who had undergone proton therapy for their treatment.  Over 99% stated they would recommend it to others.

 

I met Mike Hyman, Kids-N-Cancer, from the U.K. in person for the first time - we have had conversations on the phone, but not the same. I love Mike for he is dedicated, heart and soul, to helping the children of the U.K. financially when they come to the U.S. for proton therapy. His dedication was palpable.  I was inspired that his sentiments were basically that a parent should never have to bury a child as long as friends and neighbors were willing to pitch in and save a life. We both vowed we could work together in the future.

To my cousin Chuck, who passed away unexpectedly last week - peace and love.

Pediatric Proton Panel Set to Meet Feb. 12th in Washington, D.C.

The National Association for Proton Therapy is set to hold its first annual conference in Washington, D.C. from Feb. 11, 2013 -Feb. 14, 2013.  On February 12th, there will be a panel of Pediatric Radiation Oncology experts including Dr. Indelicato (U Florida PTI), Dr. Chang (Hampton UPTI), Dr. Mahajan (MD Anderson PTC) and Dr. McMullen (Indiana HPTC) discussing pediatric proton therapy.  The panel will discuss pediatric proton treatment protocols, trends and future treatment implications.  

Pediatric Proton Foundation Supports ASTRO's Annual Meeting

The Pediatric Proton Foundation (PPF) was in full force at the Annual Meeting of ASTRO in Miami Beach, from Oct. 1-5, 2011.  Volunteers, Susan Ralston, Executive Director, and Ann-Marie Lewis visited from the headquarters area in Virginia Beach and participated in numerous key meetings with old friends and many new friends.  Susan Ralston states, "the proton community is a small world, indeed, and there are so many great people involved in the science and application, it is inspiring to see collaberation and fellowship in action."  The Pediatric Proton Foundation recently partnered with the National Association for Proton Therapy to release survey results from pediatric patients treated with protons in 2010.  The study is available here.

The Annual Meeting of the PPF was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center on Oct. 3, 2011 in attendance included founders, Dr. Sameer Keole, ProCure - Oklahoma City and Dr. Cynthia Keppel, Hampton University Proton Therapy Center.  Other top notch professional volunteers include proton therapy consultant Dr. Andrew Chang and Dr. Daniel Indelicato of the University of Florida Proton Therapy Center.  Dr. Vivian Porche, from MD Anderson, was unable to attend this year.  New applicants for the board were considered (stay tuned) and other important topics were discussed to include the 2011 Pediatric Proton Therapy Survey. 

Many thanks to the supporters of our foundation.  We are reminded daily about those special children and their parents who are fighting cancer today and every day.  Our mission is clear - we want to see every child that qualifies for proton therapy to get it because it reduces the radiation long term effects to healthy surrounding organs and tissues.  We support more proton centers to be able to serve the need.  We support proton therapy as the standard of care for appropriate cases of pediatric radiation cancer treatment.

Pediatric Proton Foundation to Hold Annual Meeting at ASTRO

The Annual Meeting of the Pediatric Proton Foundation will be held at ASTRO in South Miami Beach the first week of October.  Wow!  As we look back on the year, we have so many accomplishments to be proud of given our limited size.  For the first time we published a survey in conjunction with the National Association for Proton Therapy entitled, "Pediatric Proton Therapy in the United States: Patterns of Care 2010."  We were impressed with the findings which revealed 45 diseases were treated in 2010.  Children under 8 being the majority of those pediatrics treated.  We will be reporting these and other findings during our meetings and fellowship during ASTRO.  Stay tuned!

 Thank you for your continued interest in pediatric proton. 

Breaking News...State of Pediatric Proton Therapy 2010 Soon to be Released!

BREAKING NEWS - August 8th


The survey of the State of Pediatric Proton Therapy 2010 is about to be completed. We had 100% participation!

The survey is currently undergoing peer review and will be presented by Dr. Daniel Indelicato of the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute (volunteer for the Pediatric Proton Foundation) during the Fall Meeting of the Children's Oncology Group (COG) in Atlanta September 13 - 16, 2011.

The National Association for Proton Therapy (NAPT) and the Pediatric Proton Foundation will issue a joint press release immediately after Dr. Indelicato presents the survey results at COG. Highlights from the survey will include the total number of pediatric cases, the various types of diseases treated, and the age groups treated.

Thank you for your continued support for this initial and important proton community effort.  We look forward to your feedback.