WARRENVILLE, Ill., — Proton therapy, an alternative to radiation for the treatment of cancer, will be available in Illinois sooner than expected. Originally slated to open in early 2011, the CDH Proton Center, A ProCure Center, will open its doors Oct. 19, making it the first proton therapy center in Illinois and only the ninth in the country.
Upon opening, the Center will break the world record for development of a proton therapy center – 24 months from groundbreaking to grand opening.
“We are very excited to be able to bring the power of protons to patients,” said William Hartsell, M.D., medical director of the CDH Proton Center, A ProCure Center. “We are looking forward to treating our first patient and are already receiving inquiries and evaluating patients to determine if they would benefit from proton therapy.”
Proton therapy is an important alternative to X-ray radiation for patients with cancer. The precision of proton therapy spares healthy tissue and results in far fewer short- and long-term treatment side effects. Proton therapy has been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of a broad range of tumor types including head and neck, brain, central nervous system, prostate, lung, sarcomas, gastrointestinal and many pediatric cancers. The precision of proton therapy makes it especially effective for treating children and adults with anatomically complex tumors such base of skull and tumors along the spinal cord.
Patients will benefit from the collaboration involving Central DuPage Hospital (CDH), Radiation Oncology Consultants (ROC) and ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc. (ProCure), that led to the development of the CDH Proton Center, a ProCure Center. Clinical care at the Center will be provided by ROC, the state’s largest private practice radiation oncology group with 15 physicians. ROC is one of the top radiation oncology practices in the Chicago area and has specialists who treat a comprehensive array of tumor types, ultimately caring for more patients than any other radiation oncology practice in Illinois.
The CDH Cancer Center, located adjacent to the Center, provides comprehensive cancer care for patients should they have additional medical needs while they are being treated with proton therapy. The two facilities are expected to treat nearly 40,000 patients annually. Pediatric patients will also benefit from specialized care and support services provided by medical professionals from Children’s Memorial Hospital, ranked for pediatric oncology among the top 10 children’s hospitals nationally by U.S. News & World Report, and also the Chicago region’s largest provider of pediatric oncology and hematology services.
The world-record construction of the CDH Proton Center, A ProCure Center, tops the record set by ProCure in the development of their first center, the ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City – which went from groundbreaking to grand opening in only 27 months, breaking the previous record by nine months.
“We are proud to complete the proton center in record breaking time, not because of the record, but because protons will be available to more patients sooner, and that is our mission and our passion,” said James R. Williams, president of CDH Proton Center, A ProCure Center. “We could not have accomplished such a monumental milestone without the outstanding team members who helped make development of this Center a success. From excellent construction crews, exceptional assistance from Ion Beam Applications S.A., who provided the proton technology, and the local and state officials responsible for overseeing the Center, we are grateful.”
The proton center, located at 4455 Weaver Parkway in Warrenville, will have four state-of-the-art treatment rooms, including two Inclined Beam Rooms, a technology developed by ProCure at its Training and Development Center in Bloomington, Ind. The Inclined Beam Room is a unique, cost-effective and space-saving alternative to a gantry, the industry standard used for proton treatments. The 60,000 sq. ft. Center will have the capacity to treat approximately 1,500 patients a year.
For more information about the CDH Proton Center, A ProCure Center, visit www.procure.com/il or call 630-393-7030.
