Mayo Clinic to Break Ground in Rochester for New Proton Beam Therapy Program

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic will take another step toward a new era in radiation treatment when it breaks ground tomorrow on the Richard O. Jacobson Building, located at the northwest corner of First Avenue Northwest and Second Street Northwest. The building is named after longtime Mayo patient and philanthropist Richard O. Jacobson who provided $100 million — the largest lifetime gift from an individual donor — to help establish the Mayo Clinic Proton Beam Therapy Program. Mayo Clinic will break ground on a second location for its Proton Beam Therapy Program in Phoenix in December.

VIDEO ALERT: Video, animation and facts are available at Mayo News blog.

Proton beam therapy is a more targeted and precise way of administering radiation therapy. It allows delivery of higher doses of radiation to malignant and benign tumors, while simultaneously minimizing the damage to surrounding healthy tissue and organs. The goal is to most precisely target protons to ensure they only treat cancerous tumors and spare healthy tissue and organs, maximizing the ability to cure more cancers and help people live longer.

WHAT: Groundbreaking for the Richard O. Jacobson Building, home to Mayo Clinic's Proton Beam Therapy Program in Minnesota.

WHO: Speakers include: John Logan Black, M.D., chair, Construction Steering Committee; Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede; Robert Foote, M.D., chair, Mayo Clinic Department of Radiation Oncology; Richard O. Jacobson; John Noseworthy, M.D., president and CEO, Mayo Clinic; and Shirley Weis, chief administrative officer, Mayo Clinic.

WHEN: 4:15 – 4:45 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011

WHERE: Members of the media should gather in front of the Colonial Building, 9 First Ave. NW.

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