An Insurance Company Denied a Life-Saving Treatment. A Judge Just Called It An "Immoral" Decision.

[Hortensis]

6. Irresponsible title and article as stated.

Sounds like this man was rejected to die without this treatment, instead of having a comparable treatment available for which both the benefits and risks are much better understood, not just in themselves generally but in very great detail that is applied to individual cases.

PBT is an accepted treatment but not necessarily one most urologists feel comfortable recommending at this point. Remember, following one treatment course means not benefiting from another. Most feel the treatment with the best proven efficacy for the individual case is the one that should be used.

Last I heard, which admittedly was not recently, the very small percentage of patients who have gotten PBT therapy instead of almost all with IMRT have shown some indications of additional benefit, but not necessarily sustained, longer term effects of using protons are still to be determined, and patients have tended to be younger and more affluent, factors in results not adequately adjusted for. Yet.

More study and probably technical development needed.