 I'm Matthew Whittick. I'm an associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland. I also serve as the medical director at the Maryland Proton Treatment Center. I specialize in treating patients with head and neck cancer. In general, these are cancers that arise from the bottom of the brain. They go all the way down to the collarbone. I went to medical school at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia and I stayed on there to receive my residency degree in radiation oncology. I did a one-year internal medicine fellowship at Lankana Hospital outside of Philadelphia. Subsequent to that, I was an assistant professor in head and neck radiation oncology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. I was recruited here from the University of Wisconsin in 2020 to take over the head and neck radiation position here. The combination of radiology, curative intent treatments, and very close patient relationships sort of drove me towards the radiation oncology field. So there are different types of radiation that we use. There are things called electrons that we use. We use photons or x-rays and one of the newer advanced forms is called proton therapy. Proton therapy is just an advanced form of radiation that allows us to deliver dose in a little bit of a different manner. The main difference is it reduces the overall dose to the patient. So you could see how this is very important for example for a pediatric patient who would need to have their spine treated for example. With x-rays it goes in and out of the body and so everything in front and behind the spine gets a lot of radiation. Long-term that can cause cardiac issues, it can cause secondary cancers. So with protons the beauty is if you treat the spine the dose stays in the spine so the rest of the organs aren't affected. So there are very many many instances when proton therapy may be advantageous for patients. That being said I've treated a lot of patients with x-rays and had great results. So the best thing is to come see one of the specialists that treat with photons and protons and let us help guide you in that decision-making. Bottom line I think there has to be a lot of trust between patients and their physicians. I pride myself in developing a very good rapport with my patients and I think they really appreciate that. And so coming from a very scientific edge to the waiting room where I can talk to the patients and make sure they understand exactly what we're trying to do so that they're comfortable with their treatment I think is one great thing patients will find when they meet with me.