PPF
Showing posts with label MD Anderson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MD Anderson. Show all posts
Friday, December 28, 2012
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.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Yippee - Pediatric Proton Featured on CBS News!
Yippee! A major television station finally featured a show on pediatric proton versus proton for prostate cancer. If you missed it, watch it online here:
URL: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/26/eveningnews/main6522037.shtml
This in itself is a major deal for pediatrics because hopefully with over 6 million viewers some parent out there that needed to know about proton for their child, found out about proton and is now asking the oncologist if proton is appropriate.
However, I was disappointed in several points that I make in my comments here:
Dr. Gupta,
I was looking forward to this story so much since I am a dedicated advocate for pediatric proton. My own son, Jacob, was diagnosed with spinal Ewing's sarcoma at the age of 2 in 2007. He was treated at MD Anderson's Proton Center in Houston, Texas. They have treated over 300 children in their pediatric program so far. Also, Boston has treated the most pediatric patients of any center and their research with protons is helping develop more advanced protocols for many rare pediatric cancers.
What a shame that your story left parents with the impression the only choice they may have for treatment is Philadelphia, when in fact all seven proton centers treat pediatrics. When parents are considering treatment for their child, often location makes a big difference in terms of travel and residency costs and also family/friend support. Please consider doing another story that would fully explore pediatric proton. So many cancer stricken kids lives are depending on accurate information.
The other thing that upset me as a mother is the impression that was left with the viewers that this treatment is "new." It is not a new treatment. It is simply becoming more available because of new centers opening such as Philadelphia. Hampton is due to open in August and also will have a pediatric program. Please consider adding my non-profit's website to your story links so that parents that are interested can obtain all the information they may need to get to proton treatment for their child. www.pediatricprotonfoundation.org.
Thank you for your consideration. And a sincere Thank you for highlighting proton treatment for pediatrics.
Hugs and prayers to the Keegan family.
Susan Ralston
Executive Director
Pediatric Proton Foundation
URL: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/26/eveningnews/main6522037.shtml
This in itself is a major deal for pediatrics because hopefully with over 6 million viewers some parent out there that needed to know about proton for their child, found out about proton and is now asking the oncologist if proton is appropriate.
However, I was disappointed in several points that I make in my comments here:
Dr. Gupta,
I was looking forward to this story so much since I am a dedicated advocate for pediatric proton. My own son, Jacob, was diagnosed with spinal Ewing's sarcoma at the age of 2 in 2007. He was treated at MD Anderson's Proton Center in Houston, Texas. They have treated over 300 children in their pediatric program so far. Also, Boston has treated the most pediatric patients of any center and their research with protons is helping develop more advanced protocols for many rare pediatric cancers.
What a shame that your story left parents with the impression the only choice they may have for treatment is Philadelphia, when in fact all seven proton centers treat pediatrics. When parents are considering treatment for their child, often location makes a big difference in terms of travel and residency costs and also family/friend support. Please consider doing another story that would fully explore pediatric proton. So many cancer stricken kids lives are depending on accurate information.
The other thing that upset me as a mother is the impression that was left with the viewers that this treatment is "new." It is not a new treatment. It is simply becoming more available because of new centers opening such as Philadelphia. Hampton is due to open in August and also will have a pediatric program. Please consider adding my non-profit's website to your story links so that parents that are interested can obtain all the information they may need to get to proton treatment for their child. www.pediatricprotonfoundation.org.
Thank you for your consideration. And a sincere Thank you for highlighting proton treatment for pediatrics.
Hugs and prayers to the Keegan family.
Susan Ralston
Executive Director
Pediatric Proton Foundation
Monday, March 29, 2010
DON’T DELAY CALLING A PROTON CENTER: PEDIATRIC PROTON SPOTS ARE LIMITED!
If you are considering proton therapy for your child, it is important that you seek admission to one of the proton centers as soon as you determine radiation is part of the protocol or treatment plan for your child’s particular cancer. Each center only has so many patient slots available for pediatric patients so the sooner you start the process, the better chance your needs will line up with an available opening in a nearby center.
Many parents are WAITING for their primary oncologist to make the referral. Please don’t wait for this measure. Doctors are busy and are juggling many cases. YOU must become your child’s advocate and make the call yourself. In a recent study over 85% of pediatric proton cancer patients were self-referred. Any parent can make a self referral to each of the proton centers. Our website here includes a variety of information to help you navigate the process. You will be required to obtain your child’s medical records for review by one of the proton centers for admission. Plan to obtain a complete copy of all medical records as soon as possible and continue to keep them updated throughout and after treatment. Please feel free to contact us at information@pediatricprotonfoundation.org if we can assist you in gaining acceptance to a center.
PATIENT ACCESS:
James Slater M.D Proton Treatment, Loma Linda, California 1-800-PROTONS
Francis H. Burr Proton Center, Boston, Massachusetts 1-617-726-0923
University of Florida Proton Treatment Institute, Jacksonville, Florida 1-877-686-6009
Midwest Proton Radiation Center, Bloomington, Indiana 1-866-ITS-MPRI
(1-866-487-6774)
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's Proton Center, Houston, Texas 1-866-632-4PTC
(782)
ProCure Proton Therapy Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1-888-847-2640
Roberts Proton Therapy Center at the University of Pennsylvania Health System
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1-800-789-PENN
(7366)
Many parents are WAITING for their primary oncologist to make the referral. Please don’t wait for this measure. Doctors are busy and are juggling many cases. YOU must become your child’s advocate and make the call yourself. In a recent study over 85% of pediatric proton cancer patients were self-referred. Any parent can make a self referral to each of the proton centers. Our website here includes a variety of information to help you navigate the process. You will be required to obtain your child’s medical records for review by one of the proton centers for admission. Plan to obtain a complete copy of all medical records as soon as possible and continue to keep them updated throughout and after treatment. Please feel free to contact us at information@pediatricprotonfoundation.org if we can assist you in gaining acceptance to a center.
PATIENT ACCESS:
James Slater M.D Proton Treatment, Loma Linda, California 1-800-PROTONS
Francis H. Burr Proton Center, Boston, Massachusetts 1-617-726-0923
University of Florida Proton Treatment Institute, Jacksonville, Florida 1-877-686-6009
Midwest Proton Radiation Center, Bloomington, Indiana 1-866-ITS-MPRI
(1-866-487-6774)
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's Proton Center, Houston, Texas 1-866-632-4PTC
(782)
ProCure Proton Therapy Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1-888-847-2640
Roberts Proton Therapy Center at the University of Pennsylvania Health System
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1-800-789-PENN
(7366)
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