Proton therapy patient Chuck Hurley and his family are joined by, from left, Carolyn Scanlan, Chair, LG Health Board of Trustees, Randall A. Oyer, MD, Executive Medical Director, Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute, Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO, Penn Medicine, LG Health CEO John J. Herman and James Metz, MD, Chair, Radiation Oncology, Penn Medicine.
In early 2018, Chuck Hurley was a healthy 41-year-old, married father of two small children when he experienced an ear infection that would not go away. He and his family were shocked to learn that he had a rare form of cancer in his ear, which had spread to areas in his head and neck.
Hurley’s treatment plan involved surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. Because of the location of his cancer, his doctors recommended proton therapy, a form of radiation therapy that precisely targets and destroys cancer cells, with less damage to nearby healthy organs and tissue.
For Hurley, this meant daily trips to Penn Medicine’s Roberts Proton Therapy Center in Philadelphia, five days a week for seven weeks. By the end of his treatment, he made 35 trips to Philadelphia from his Mount Joy home, spending about 8,400 minutes riding in the car to receive proton therapy.
Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health will help to alleviate travel and related burdens that face local cancer patients like Hurley with the opening of the new Proton Therapy Center at the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute. The center will become just the second site in Pennsylvania to offer the revolutionary radiation therapy to cancer patients.
Pamela Boimel, MD, PhD, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Medical Director of Radiation Oncology and Proton Therapy, explains how proton therapy works during a tour at the grand opening ceremony.
The new facility is the only proton therapy center in Central Pennsylvania and represents a $48 million investment in innovative and essential patient care in Lancaster County and surrounding communities.
An opening ceremony, held Friday, Aug. 26, featured remarks by executives and medical leaders of LG Health and Penn Medicine, including its groundbreaking Roberts Proton Therapy Center, with Hurley – who is now cancer-free and doing well – in attendance with his family.
In his remarks, LG Health CEO John J. Herman highlighted the latest milestone in cancer treatment for the health system that began with the 2013 opening of the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute. The continued expansion of the Cancer Institute, which now cares for 15,000 patients per year, demonstrates LG Health’s nearly 130-year commitment to its mission of advancing the health and well-being of the community.
“Landmark moments such as today stand as testaments to innovative organizations that continuously explore, and pursue, big and bold ways to advance the health and well-being of the communities they serve,” he said. “They show leadership and never settle for the status quo – much like in the spirit of the late President John F. Kennedy, who challenged the nation to be the first to land a man on the moon.”
Carolyn Scanlan, Chair, LG Health Board of Trustees, said the Board’s vision for the Cancer Institute originated more than a decade ago, as a center that would offer a broad range of state-of-the-art services while also focusing on the needs of patients. One especially important goal was to minimize the number of people who need to travel outside Lancaster County for advanced cancer treatments such as proton therapy.
“The Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute – and soon our new Proton Therapy Center -- powerfully delivers upon the spirit of that vision,” she said. “Through continued expansion of our clinical research, advanced therapies and offerings in personalized medicine, our Cancer Institute offers the most extensive range of oncology services in Central Pennsylvania.”
LG Health joined the University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine) in 2015. The Cancer Institute’s significant growth, including the addition of the Proton Therapy Center, leverages the combined strengths of LG Health and the innovative clinical advancements of Penn Medicine, resulting in the ability to deliver a high level of advanced cancer care to the community.
Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO, Penn Medicine, said the new Proton Therapy Center in Lancaster represents a relentless pursuit of innovative approaches to treating and preventing disease that is present across the entire Penn Medicine health system, which stretches from the Susquehanna River to the Jersey shore.
“Our aim is to create a seamless cancer system, so patients get the very best care, regardless of where in the system they receive that care,” he said.
Nikolas Buescher, Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute Executive Director, gives guests a behind-the-scenes look at the Proton Therapy Center.
Proton therapy uses protons (which are positively charged atoms) as the energy source, offering greater precision and accuracy than conventional radiation therapy using X-rays. Because there is less damage to nearby healthy tissue or organs, there may be a lower risk of side effects, hospitalizations and other complications during treatment.
Proton therapy is perhaps the most advanced treatment for cancer tumors located close to critical organs and highly sensitive areas, such as the spinal cord, heart and brain. It also provides new options for patients whose cancers can’t be completely removed by surgery or who have previously received standard radiation in the same area.
James Metz, MD, Chair, Radiation Oncology, Penn Medicine, said the new Lancaster center builds on Penn Medicine’s groundbreaking proton therapy expertise, led by the Roberts Proton Therapy Center, which opened in 2010 and is the largest center in the world for both proton and standard radiation. Penn Medicine’s leadership in proton therapy has led the health system to treat more than 8,000 patients and provide training to more than 70% of the clinicians using this technology.
“The Proton Therapy Center here in Lancaster represents another example of how the clinical expertise and extensive research at Penn Medicine can translate into life-saving treatments for communities regionally and throughout the country,” Metz said.
Randall A. Oyer, MD, Executive Medical Director, Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute, said proton therapy is part of a strategic approach to planning future oncology services, which looks to continually improve patient care with expanded treatment options. This includes enhanced availability of general research and clinical trials, offering patients the opportunity to try new and effective treatments that could potentially improve their condition while taking part in vital research that can benefit many future patients.
“We are committed to bringing advanced medicine to our patients in Lancaster and throughout Central Pennsylvania,” Oyer said. “For families in our community to have local access to the kind of care rarely seen outside a major academic medical center is nothing short of life-changing.”
LG Health’s new Proton Therapy Center is located adjacent to the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute at 2102 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster.