The invention comprises an X-ray method and apparatus used in conjunction with charged particle radiation therapy of cancerous tumors. The system uses an X-ray beam that lies in substantially the same path as a charged particle beam path of a particle beam cancer therapy system, has an elongated lifetime, and/or that is synchronized with patient respiration. The system creates an electron beam that strikes an X-ray generation source where the X-ray generation source is located proximate to the proton beam path. By generating the X-rays near the proton beam path, an X-ray path that is essentially the proton beam path is created. Using the generated X-rays, the system collects X-ray images of a localized body tissue region about a cancerous tumor, which are usable for: fine tuning body alignment relative to the proton beam path and/or to control the proton beam path to accurately and precisely target the tumor.