FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Southwest Florida Proton Oncology Center has just received a groundbreaking piece of equipment called the Proteus One. Doctors say this machine will revolutionize the way they treat cancer.
WATCH AS FORT MYERS COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENT ANVAR RUZIEV SPEAKS WITH DOCTORS AND ENGINEERS WHO EXPLAIN HOW THE TECHNOLOGY WORKS:
Proton therapy is an alternative to traditional radiation that is less intrusive. Dr. Todd Pezzi, Radiation Oncologist of Southwest Florida Proton, explains: "The reason that protons are special, is that they don't pass directly through you, the way that traditional radiation does through x-rays. and as a result of that, the dose is a little more concentrated on the tumor and and is better able to spare nearby-non target organs."
The new treatment does come at a higher cost than traditional radiation. The machine itself costs over $20 million. It rotates around the patient while delivering concentrated beams that target tumors. Those beams come from a device called a cyclotron.
Frank English, Finance Manager at Southwest Florida Proton, says: "The cyclotron spins the proton beams, at a speed that's you know, very very fast, and that beam will attack the cancer cells and cause the cancer cells to destroy themselves, so the desired outcome of course is that cancer be cured."
This machine is one of only 45 in the world. It was shipped from Belgium and lowered through a custom roof hatch at the new Fort Myers Oncology Center using a crane. Currently, patients have to travel all the way to Miami to receive proton therapy, a process that can sometimes take more than a hundred visits.
Frédéric Genin, President of IBA Proton Therapy, says: "The number one barrier, is what we call geographic access, is there a center close by to where me as a patient where I live. This system is here is going to serve two million people that live in this area."
Doctors say getting the machine here has taken almost five years. Lee Health also contributed money to purchase it alongside Southwest Florida Proton. Proton therapy is becoming more popular, as IBA tells us that they're also installing thirty more systems like this one across the globe.
The facility will begin to schedule cancer patients in early December. However, the proton machine itself will require about nine months of commissioning tests before it's ready to go.
