Proton Therapy Center celebrates opening

Penn Medicine celebrated the opening of the new Roberts Proton Therapy Center, beginning what Penn President Amy Gutmann called “a new chapter” in Penn’s history.

The Center, located deep underground in the new Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, uses cutting-edge proton therapy treatment to deliver highly-concentrated radioactive doses to cancer patients.

Inside 18 feet of concrete, a 220-ton cyclotron ­— an enormous magnet ­— spins to shape beams of protons, which are then transported into treatment rooms.

The beam of protons can then be focused on any part of the body to destroy cancerous cells. Its high precision allows doctors to target tumors while leaving healthy tissues unharmed.

Though the center will not be functional until after Jan. 1, members of the Penn community gathered to celebrate its completion and take tours of the new facility.

According to Lynda Mischel, chief operating officer of the oncology department at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the proton therapy system is currently undergoing testing to ensure that it meets expectations and that it delivers the correct amount of radiation in the correct location.

The Roberts Proton Therapy Center is the largest of its kind in the world. It has five proton treatment rooms, four of which contain three-story gantries to deliver the proton beam. The gantries can rotate 360 degrees to deliver treatment to any part of the body.

The center expects to see about 3,000 patients each year.

“The Roberts Proton Therapy Center is more than a beacon for patients and their families,” Gutmann said to the crowd of donors and community members at the opening.

Afterward, Gutmann, various members of the University’s Board of Trustees and administrators from Penn Medicine spoke about the significance of bringing proton therapy to Penn.

“This facility was longed-for for several years,” said Ralph Muller, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health system. He linked the new proton therapy center to what he called the current “renaissance” at Penn Medicine.

Newly-appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees David Cohen said this addition would “reaffirm Penn and Philadelphia’s place” as a center of American medicine.

The speakers also extolled the generosity of the Roberts family, which donated $15 million towards the creation of the center.

Ralph Roberts, a 1941 Wharton alumnus and founder of Comcast, spoke about his family’s personal battles with cancer, which led to their generous support of the center.

“Welcome aboard, Mr. Proton,” he said.

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