Proton therapy is an advanced, cutting-edge cancer treatment that can precisely target a tumor with minimal side effects.
It’s a well-established approach, but accessibility has been an issue due to the house-like size of the hardware and cost. However, ongoing advancements are shrinking these units and expanding their use.
BayCare broke ground Tuesday on a $33 million "compact" proton therapy center at St Joseph’s hospital in Tampa with plans to begin treating patients in fall 2025.
That’s an accelerated timeline that the nonprofit health system plans to meet due to a new technology that is smaller and easier to integrate into existing infrastructures.
The technology, developed by Mevion Medical Systems, uses “the most compact proton therapy system,” BayCare said in a news release.
Traditional radiation treatment typically uses X-rays, or photon beams, to deliver energy to a tumor. But this energy passes through the body and, as a result, can damage nearby healthy tissue. Proton therapy shoots a beam of energy particles that hits the tumor and stops right there.
“This is a lifesaving treatment that can now be available to everybody here locally when it was not before,” said Don Ingram, a BayCare board member who was successfully treated for prostate cancer using proton therapy.
While the therapy has been around for years, the size of the buildings required can be an impediment for health systems. Many of the early traditional units required up to 50,000 square feet to house the enormous cyclotron that generates the protons.
Advancements have shrunk these down, although Florida is home to only six of the nation’s 42 centers. None are currently on the state’s west coast, although there will soon be four.
The compact system means hospitals no longer need to build new facilities, allowing for quicker deployment and wider accessibility. The unit will fit snuggly in about 2,000 square feet in St. Joseph’s Fred J. Woods Radiation Therapy Center.
So while BayCare wasn’t the first to announce adding proton therapy, it plans to be the first:
- Moffitt Cancer Center’s facility, slated to open in 2026, recently topped out construction on its 30,000-square-foot proton facility at its Global Innovation Center in Pasco County.
- Tampa General Hospital has plans for a 44,000-square-foot proton center in partnership with the Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute. Opening was originally set for sometime in 2025.
- Lee Health is partnering on 35,000-square-foot center in Estero that is slated to be available after 2025.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place with BayCare leaders, local providers, community members and special guests attending.
“This is the most technically advanced cancer treatment. Just what all patients deserve,” said Dr. Samir Akach, vice president and chief medical officer with BayCare.
