ESTERO, Fla. - iSportsWire -- Southwest Florida Proton has hired Dr. Shannon MacDonald, an international leader and pioneer in the field of proton therapy, to serve as the new center's senior medical director.

In this role, MacDonald will work alongside Dr. Arie Dosoretz, managing partner, and Dr. Todd Pezzi, associate medical director, to oversee the center's clinical operations and guide long-term strategic planning. MacDonald's clinical expertise is treating breast, pediatric, skull-base tumors and sarcomas.

"The team that envisioned and developed Southwest Florida Proton recognizes the future of cancer care is moving toward proton therapy as a preferred course of treatment for many types of cancers," MacDonald said. "After committing my 18-year career to proton therapy treatment, it's exciting to be part of this evolution and introduce this state-of-the-art proton therapy as an option for cancer patients seeking this care in Southwest Florida."

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Proton therapy, which uses charged proton particles accelerated to two-thirds the speed of light to destroy cancer cells, is an effective treatment option for cancers of the brain and spine, breast, esophagus, head and neck, liver, lung, eye, pancreas, prostate, lymphoma and sarcomas. Research shows it's a safe option for patients who have undergone prior radiation treatment when regular radiation is not an option. Many studies have shown reduced long-term radiation risks, such as growth impairment and learning disabilities in pediatric cancer patients. In adult sarcomas, protons can achieve higher doses of tumors than traditional radiation, allowing for the cure of these sarcomas that were not possible or safe with regular radiation. Protons are particles that travel into a cancer, but not beyond it, which avoids the risks of radiation damage in organs that do not have cancer cells. Regular radiation must enter and exit, leading to more collateral damage in healthy tissues.

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Prior to joining Southwest Florida Proton, MacDonald was an accomplished associate professor of radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School while also serving as director of base-of-skull service, director of sarcoma service and proton therapy liaison at Massachusetts General Hospital to provide this therapy for patients at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital, where she was also credentialed to see patients. Her previous roles at Mass General included director of breast radiation oncology, course director for radiation oncology and Harvard Medical School student clinical clerkship. She has served on leadership committees for various international, national, regional and local organizations, including the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, Children's Oncology Group and the Particle Therapy Cooperative Group. She has run numerous trials for proton radiation and is the clinical chair of RADCOMP, the most prominent randomized trial studying proton therapy for breast cancer.

For more information, please visit SWFLproton.com.