That growth comes with a caveat. “With that kind of expansion in a field that demands deep expertise, staffing shortages and knowledge gaps are inevitable,” Durkee says. “How do you hire enough physicians, physicists, dosimetrists, and therapists who actually know how to run it? It’s not like conventional radiation.”

It’s another roadblock proton therapy advocates hope the industry will overcome in its quest to deliver better patient outcomes. The challenge now isn’t whether the technology works, but how quickly — and wisely — it can scale.


Ensuring that expertise, maintenance, and infrastructure keep pace with expansion will determine whether patients truly benefit from proton therapy’s promise.

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