Doctor to talk proton therapy treatments for cancer

PANAMA CITY — The Panhandle Gator Club is hosting a lecture Thursday night on proton therapy treatments for cancer patients, a technology offered by the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute.

The presentation will be conducted by former Panama City resident Dr. Chip Nichols, who is now a physician with the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute. The talk will be at the Holiday Inn Select, 2001 North Martin Luther King Blvd.,  starting at 5:30 p.m.

The Panhandle Gator Club is a University of Florida alumni group, but the talk is open to the general public. The University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute, located in Jacksonville, is the only facility in the Southeast that uses the technology that aims a proton beam that precisely targets tumors.

Proton therapy can be used to treat prostate and other forms of cancer where tumors are hard to reach or operate. Dr. Sam Combs, a Panama City physician, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2010. Nichols was his former neighbor, and a chance encounter while Combs was walking his dog led to a discussion about proton therapy.

“Proton therapy — I had never heard of it, but after doing some research I decided it was right for me,” Combs said. “I had 39 treatments in about two months.”

Combs rented a condo in Jacksonville and he and his wife drove over for treatment every Monday and stayed until Friday night. After treatment Friday, Combs and his wife would drive back to Panama City and the physician would see his own patients on Saturdays.

Protons are particles of atoms that have different characteristics than X-rays, which better restricts radiation to just the cancerous tumors. The use of protons leaves little to no damage to healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. Proton therapy already is being used for more than 20 patients in the Panama City area, according to the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute.

Combs said he chose the proton therapy treatment because of its low complication rate for incontinence and impotence. He has been cancer free for nearly a year now with no side effects other than an irritable bladder during treatment.

“I think this presentation will be meaningful because there are doctors who don’t even know about proton therapy,” Combs said.

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