Why is proton therapy so limited in its availability?
Building a proton center is costly and time intensive. Most proton therapy centers cost around $150 million to build (primarily due to high equipment costs), and take more than two years to complete. Currently, the ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City is on record-breaking pace to open in 27 months from groundbreaking.
• Proton therapy had been limited to physics research labs until 1990. And like most new technologies, building a proton center can be an expensive endeavor for most universities and academic medical centers. The newest proton facilities to start treating patients in the last two years include the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville, and the M.D. Anderson Proton Therapy Center in Houston. Both are now treating 60-80 patients daily as of 2008. > Send mail to lenarzt@proton-therapy.org with questions or comments about this web site. > Send mail to webmaster for this site.
