MD Anderson Orlando will break ground today on the Proton Therapy Center at MD Anderson Orlando, a $25 million facility along Orange Avenue which will house Central Florida’s first proton therapy center.
Proton therapy is a form of radiation therapy that uses proton beams to shrink tumors in adult cancers, especially tumors that are located near vital organs and in pediatric cancer patients whose bodies are still growing. The Proton Therapy Center at MD Anderson Orlando will treat cancers of the brain, spine, lung and prostate as well as pediatric cancers. Proton therapy, because it can so precisely target tumors, has proven very effective at treating such cancers and patients report fewer side effects.
“By bringing this technology here to Central Florida, we are making this revolutionary cancer treatment available to so many more individuals,” said Mark Roh, MD, President of MD Anderson Orlando. “Proton therapy is the cutting edge of cancer fighting technology and now we’ll have it right here in Orlando.”
The 15,000 square foot Proton Therapy Center at MD Anderson Orlando will consist of three floors – two above ground and one underground – in order to accommodate the MEVION S250 superconducting synchrocyclotron proton accelerator. MD Anderson Orlando will begin treating patients with proton therapy in early 2014 and expects to treat more than 30 patients a day with the new proton accelerator.
MD Anderson Orlando joins an elite group of centers around the world to offer proton therapy. To date there are only 41 proton therapy centers in the world, just 10 of those are here in the United States.
For more information about proton therapy, visit our website at www.mdacco.com.
