A Dream Come True

"My dream has always been to establish a major new facility for Mayo Clinic," says businessman and philanthropist Richard O. Jacobson, who gave $100 million to help establish the Proton Beam Therapy Program at Mayo Clinic.

Mr. Jacobson's transformational gift will be used to develop facilities and a new program to treat cancer patients with proton beam therapy — a less invasive alternative to traditional radiation treatment — at Mayo's campuses in Rochester, Minn., and Phoenix, Ariz.

"I began going to Mayo for my care when I was a child and continue to get my care there. Mayo Clinic makes a profound impact on people, and I trust Mayo to do work that really matters," says Mr. Jacobson. "I feel fortunate to help with this new endeavor, which will provide innovative treatment for patients with cancer."

The program will use intensity-modulated proton therapy — specifically, pencil beam scanning — which offers a more precise form of proton beam therapy for greater control over radiation doses, shorter treatment times and fewer side effects.

Among the nearly 2,500 people expected to be treated each year at Mayo Clinic's proton beam therapy centers are:

• Children with all types of cancer
• Young women with breast cancer
• Young men with advanced prostate cancer
• Patients with a rare form of melanoma that grows inside the eye
• Patients with lung cancer

All patients receiving proton therapy treatments will become part of a patient registry that will enable Mayo Clinic to track them into the future, determine which gain the most benefit, and incorporate these findings to improve care and services for cancer patients.

Read more about proton beam therapy at Mayo Clinic.