Antonio Conde, oncologist: If we don't name cancer, we stigmatize the patient'

"It's such a common and recurring disease that we have to start normalizing it. If we don't name it, we stigmatize the patient. They already have enough to deal with just being sick. Fortunately, this is changing, because we're diagnosing it earlier and curing it more effectively with fewer side effects."

"I saw that we could treat and perform operations without surgery, because with radiation you can reach very complex, sometimes almost impossible-to-reach, areas and produce an effect similar to having removed the disease. It's also something completely linked to technological advancements, and most treatments are non-invasive, requiring no sedation or hospitalization."

"Proton therapy is the missing piece in existing cancer treatment techniques and will place the Spanish public healthcare system at the forefront of Europe's fight against cancer, a disease that is being diagnosed earlier and cured with fewer side effects."

Antonio Conde Moreno, head of Radiation Oncology at La Fe Hospital in Valencia, advocates for proton therapy as a transformative cancer treatment technology. He emphasizes the importance of normalizing cancer terminology to reduce patient stigma and highlights how early diagnosis and advanced treatments are improving cure rates with reduced side effects. Radiation oncology has evolved significantly, offering non-invasive treatments that reach complex tumor locations without surgery, sedation, or hospitalization. Proton therapy represents a technological advancement in radiation treatment, using high-energy particles instead of traditional photon beams to target cancer cells more precisely. This approach complements existing oncology techniques including surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, offering patients improved outcomes and quality of life.

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