Oklahoma City-based center has treated more than 150 patients from across the nation for various types of cancer during the past year
OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Past and present patients, families, friends, staff and physicians of ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City commemorated a year of achievements at a celebratory luncheon Thursday at the center in northwest Oklahoma City.
Members of the ProCure board of directors, CEO Hadley Ford and Dr. John Cameron, and the center’s Medical Director Dr. Sameer Keole joined in the celebration with many of the approximately 150 patients treated at ProCure during the last year.
Newlywed and former ProCure prostate cancer patient John Bell and his wife, Sherry, traveled from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to attend the festivities.
“After I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, Sherry said she wanted to be by my side as I went through treatment, so we actually spent our honeymoon here in Oklahoma while I was treated at ProCure,” Bell said. “We had a great vacation together, and the staff always made us feel welcome and loved, so of course we wanted to be here today to celebrate with our friends.”
Throughout the first year of operation, the center and its physicians and staff accomplished many milestones, including:
- Treating more than 150 patients including brain, prostate, spinal, gastrointestinal, chest, head and neck cancer patients
- Treating more than 30 out-of-state patients from various states, including Texas, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Arkansas, Nebraska, Georgia, Ohio, Connecticut, Arizona, Minnesota and Michigan
- Treating pediatric patients age 10 months and older
- Opening the world’s only inclined beam room, which treats approximately 80 percent of tumors appropriate for proton therapy
- Opening a gantry treatment room, which rotates 360 degrees and can be positioned to treat all tumors appropriate for proton therapy
- Graduating the first proton-certified radiation therapist team in the nation.
“We have come a long way since opening last year, and we’re not letting up on the momentum we have started,” Keole said. “We’re making medical advancements and creating clinical innovations so we can continue to provide better and better care for our patients. It’s exciting to come to work each day knowing that what we do will improve the outcomes and quality of life for patients.”
The ProCure Proton Therapy Center is affiliated with INTEGRIS Health, the largest Oklahoma-owned, not-for-profit health system in the state. INTEGRIS’ state-of-the-art Cancer Institute of Oklahoma, which opened in September 2009 and is adjacent to the proton therapy center, provides patients with comprehensive cancer care.
“Being able to provide patients in Oklahoma and other states with the benefits of proton therapy has been a significant enhancement to the care patients now have access to in Oklahoma,” said Bruce Lawrence, president and CEO of INTEGRIS Health. “We are committed to doing everything in our power to help patients fight cancer and are very pleased to be part of bringing this treatment option to patients in Oklahoma and throughout the United States.”
Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation treatment for many types of cancer. Protons kill cancer cells by preventing them from dividing and growing. Patients experience fewer short- and long-term side effects with proton therapy than with traditional forms of radiation, as proton therapy causes significantly less damage to healthy tissue and vital organs. The 55,000 sq.-foot ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City opened July 8, 2009. At full capacity, the four treatment rooms at the center will treat about 1,500 patients per year.
About Procure Treatment Centers Inc.
ProCure Treatment Centers Inc. is a privately held health care company dedicated to improving the lives of patients with cancer by increasing access to proton therapy. The company was founded in 2005 in Bloomington, Ind., and is the first to develop a network of proton therapy centers in cities across the United States. Its first center, the ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City, opened in 2009. Centers are under construction in Warrenville, Ill., and Somerset, N.J., and others are in development in Seattle, Detroit and south Florida. ProCure provides management leadership and a comprehensive approach for the design, construction, financing, staffing, training and day-to-day operations of proton therapy centers. ProCure’s solution reduces the time, cost and effort necessary to build and operate a facility. ProCure is advancing proton therapy by collaborating with radiation oncology practices and hospitals to develop centers through innovation and improvements in technology, and by providing training at the world’s only educational facility specializing in proton therapy. For more information, visit procure.com.
About INTEGRIS Health
INTEGRIS Health is the state’s largest Oklahoma-owned not-for-profit health care corporation with hospitals, rehabilitation centers, physician clinics, mental health facilities, fitness centers, independent living centers and home health agencies throughout much of the state. Through its affiliates, INTEGRIS Health operates 13 hospitals, led in the Oklahoma City area by INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center and INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center. The organization has affiliated mental health providers in 50 Oklahoma towns and cities, and offers hospice services through Hospice of Oklahoma County.
CONTACT:
for ProCure Treatment Centers Inc.
Sky Opila
[email protected]
312.558.1770
KEYWORDS: United States North America Oklahoma
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Health Hospitals Medical Devices Oncology Radiology
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