Emily Phillips Longley’s Comps Presentation
Monday, March 28th
8:30 am in Olin 101
Proton Beam Therapy: Fighting Cancer with Physics
Funding and coordination of cancer research efforts have surged in recent months after President Barack Obama
announced the goal of making America the country that cures cancer once and for all. Such research efforts consist
of the advancement of a wide range of technologies. Radiation therapy is a particularly important technology for
study, as over half of American cancer patients require radiation therapy for all or part of their treatment. Proton
beam therapy is an up-‐and-‐coming radiation therapy that irradiates patients with protons. It is an extremely
precise method method that targets the tumor to submillimeter precision. In my talk I will discuss the theory behind the usage of protons as a means to destroy cancer cells. I will discuss both why protons represent an effective treatment and how the treatment is implemented. In particular, I will discuss the action of protons on cells, their travel through and interaction mechanisms with matter in general, and the technology of a proton treatment facility.