Proton Beam Therapy Program
Illustration of one of the eight proton beam therapy treatment rooms. The gantry will rotate 180 degrees around the patient. A robotic system will precisely position the patient. Generous gift makes it possible
This exciting advance in cancer care is made possible by the generosity of Richard O. Jacobson, a Mayo patient and philanthropist, who donated $100 million to Mayo's Proton Beam Therapy Program. The proton therapy facility in Rochester will be named in his honor. Read more.
Mayo Clinic launches Proton Beam Therapy Program
The next chapter in cancer treatment
Mayo Clinic is launching a Proton Beam Therapy Program to provide the latest cancer treatment for Mayo patients. New treatment facilities will be built on the Minnesota and Arizona campuses. Treatment for patients will be available beginning in 2015 in Minnesota and 2016 in Arizona.
The five-year project will expand Mayo's capabilities in radiation therapy to include proton therapy. Mayo's program will differ from most other programs in the United States because it will feature intensity-modulated proton beam therapy exclusively, which is an advance over traditional radiotherapy because the radiation beam is targeted only to the tumor, better sparing surrounding healthy tissue from harm.
All eight treatment rooms will be equipped with pencil beam scanning, the latest form of proton beam therapy, which uses spot scanning to "paint" dots of protons back and forth through a tumor.
Proton beam therapy will be used to treat many kinds of cancers located deep within the body and close to critical organs and body structures, especially in children and young adults.