Oklahoma City ProCure Proton Therapy Center celebrates first-year anniversary

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.

“We have come a long way since opening last year, and we're not letting up on the momentum we have started”

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.