"The High-Tech, Big-Footprint Cancer Center" - Helene Stapinski
The New York Proton Center, set to start taking patients in February 2019, is the first of its kind in the state, providing specialized radiation treatment for children with cancer, those suffering from head and neck cancers and other tumors that require pinpoint treatment to avoid damage to surrounding tissues and organs. Proton therapy, which generally costs twice as much as traditional radiation, requires a large investment - not just in technology but in real estate. The Proton Center is made up of a consortium of three of New York's leading cancer treatment providers - Sloan Kettering, Mount Sinai Health System, and Montefiore Health System. Coming together to purchase and share the expensive equipment made the project financially viable. Though the treatment is more expensive for insurers, the cost savings comes in the long run, said Kenneth Rosenzweig, MD, professor and system chair of radiation oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and part of the team working on the project. "If we can limit side effects and limit cancer coming back, it's going to be a benefit, in quality of life and in the cost," he said. People who have already undergone extensive radiation are prime candidates for proton treatment, since there's a limited amount of radiation that a body can endure.
- Kenneth Rosenzweig, MD, Professor, System Chair, Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai