article_snippet.sent: The UK is to open The UK first three proton beam therapy centres after cancer-stricken five-year-old Ashya King made a miracle recovery after receiving the treatment.
article_snippet.sent: Cardiff-based Proton Partners International Ltd, is to open the treatment centres, which will be available to NHS cancer patients, in Cardiff, London and Northumberland London by 2017, with the first in the Welsh capital being operational by next year.
article_snippet.sent: Three centres in the UK in Cardiff, London and Northumberland, are set to open offering proton beam therapy, which Ashya, pictured, received .
article_snippet.sent: While conventional radiotherapy uses high energy beams of radiation to destroy cancerous cells, often damaging surrounding tissue, proton beam therapy aims radiation directly at the tumour.
article_snippet.sent: While radiotherapy can lead to side effects such as nausea and can sometimes disrupt how some organs function, proton beam therapy has a lower risk of side effects.
article_snippet.sent: However, the UK estimates that only one in 100 people would be suitable for proton beam therapy and there are also concerns that the long-term impact of the nascent procedure is not yet known.
article_snippet.sent: The only proton beam facility currently in operation is at the Clatterbridge Centre for Cancer NHS Foundation Trust in the Wirral, Merseyside, which delivers 'low energy' therapy for rare cancers around the eye.
article_snippet.sent: The NHS currently pays for those deemed appropriate for proton beam therapy to go to the United States for treatment.
article_snippet.sent: those deemed appropriate for proton beam therapy to go to the United States for treatment must be assessed by a panel who may decide patients are not suitable if there is unlikely to be a clinical benefit from the treatment.
article_snippet.sent: It is anticipated that NHS demand for proton beam therapy abroad will reach 1,500 patients by 2017.
article_snippet.sent: In addition to state of the art Proton Partners treatment services, the Cardiff centre will provide conventional radiotherapy, chemotherapy and supportive care.
article_snippet.sent: Proton beam therapy is a highly-targeted type of radiotherapy that can treat hard-to-reach cancers, such as spinal tumours, with a lower risk of damaging the surrounding tissue and causing side effects.
article_snippet.sent: The Government has announced that The Government is to create two NHS proton beam therapy units which will open in 2018.
highlights_snippet.sent: The three centres will offer proton beam therapy to private and NHS cancer patients .
  