Word: fermilab
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Billiard Game. Betty S. has an inoperable malignant tumor of the esophagus. She is one of two dozen patients participating in a promising new program for fighting advanced cancer of the mouth, upper respiratory system, cervix, brain, pancreas and other areas that until recently have been virtually untreatable. Fermilab's weapon is a beam of high-energy neutrons produced by its linear accelerator. Directed against certain tumors, the neutrons can be more effective than the X rays normally used in cancer therapy. Their advantage lies in the combination of their mass (they are heavy by subatomic standards) and high...
Following the British lead, Houston's M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, the U.S. Naval Research Lab, and the University of Washington in Seattle have all started using neutron irradiation. But Fermilab has a special advantage: it delivers neutrons at higher energies and thus can probe deeper into the tumors...
Initial Results. The director of Fermilab's neutron irradiation program, Dr. Lionel Cohen of Chicago's Michael Reese Hospital, is encouraged by the initial results, but emphasizes that the use of the Fermilab accelerator for treating cancer is still highly experimental. No one can tell what, if any, long-term damage may result from the use of high-energy neutrons. Furthermore, neutron treatment is suitable for only a small fraction of cancer patients. Says Cohen: "Only 15% of patients now being treated with conventional radiation could benefit from neutron therapy. There has to be a localized cancer...