Texas Center for Proton Therapy Treats First Patients

Opening three months ahead of its original schedule, Texas Center for Proton Therapy is the first proton therapy center in North Texas and the only center in the state that will offer the latest generation proton therapy technology including image-guided pencil-beam scanning in multiple treatment rooms, which delivers treatment to tumors with precision and accuracy. It is one of only a few centers in the country offering this advanced, life-saving technology.

“On behalf of our patients, current and future, we are pleased to achieve this important milestone in cancer care in Texas – treating our first patients with this remarkably precise and effective radiation technology,” said Dr. Andrew Lee, medical director, Texas Center for Proton Therapy. “The power and promise that proton therapy offers for better outcomes and improved quality of life provides new hope for cancer patients.”

Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation treatment that delivers precisely targeted radiation to tumors, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue and reducing side effects, which allows patients to maintain quality of life during and after treatment. Proton therapy is especially important for pediatric patients whose bodies are still growing and developing, and in adult patients with cancers in highly sensitive areas such as the brain, spine, chest, prostate, head and neck.

Construction on Texas Center for Proton Therapy, a 63,000 square foot facility, located at 1501 West Royal Lane in Irving, began in May 2013. It is outfitted with the newest generation of equipment from IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.), including a 220-ton cyclotron (a massive magnet-packed particle accelerator), two isocentric gantry treatment rooms, each containing a 30-foot tall, 110-ton machine that rotates to enable pinpoint accuracy in treating tumors, as well as a fixed beam treatment room. The center also includes some of the newest PET/CT imaging and MRI technology, as well as on-site laboratory services.

The Center’s four physicians and other medical and support team members have more than 70 years of combined proton therapy experience, and includes pioneering innovators, such as medical director, Dr. Andrew Lee, the first physician to administer pencil beam scanning proton therapy in North America. Until now, Dallas/Fort Worth was the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. without a proton therapy treatment center.

“Texas Oncology delivers nearly half of all cancer care in Texas, in communities large and small across the state. Texas Center for Proton Therapy is a major accomplishment in furthering our mission, which is to give our physicians and patients access to the full range of advanced cancer treatments, while delivering personalized, compassionate care,” said Dr. Steven Paulson, Texas Oncology chairman and president. “We’re grateful for the dedication and commitment of so many people who helped make possible this new breakthrough in cancer care in Texas.”