April 7, 2010 - According to statistics from the American Cancer Society, an estimated 48,000 people in New Jersey and 101,000 in New York state were diagnosed with cancer in 2009, many of which will receive some form of radiation therapy.
Cancer survivors joined representatives from ProCure Treatment Centers Inc. (ProCure), Princeton Radiation Oncology (PRO), and CentraState Healthcare System to break ground on the ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Somerset.
The $160 million, 60,000-square-foot facility is the first proton therapy center to be built in the state. The facility will have four treatment rooms with the capacity to treat approximately 1,500 patients annually.
While most regions in the United States are limited to conventional radiation therapy treatments, patients in the New Jersey and New York area will have access to proton therapy. Research has shown that proton therapy causes fewer short- and long-term treatment side effects than traditional X-ray radiation therapy, diminishes the chances of secondary tumors and improves patients’ quality of life. The precision of proton therapy greatly reduces the type of damage often caused by radiation treatment because the majority of its energy is deposited directly in the tumor rather than in surrounding healthy tissue or nearby organs. Proton therapy is especially effective for treating a broad range of tumors including head and neck, brain, central nervous system, prostate, lung, sarcomas, gastrointestinal and many pediatric cancers.
For more information: www.procure.com
May 02, 2024 
