SIDEBAR: A BEST IN CLASS FACILITY

The Proton Therapy Center at MD Anderson stands as an international center of excellence for proton therapy, research and education. Within its 96,000 feet of space the Center houses three treatment rooms equipped with giant gantries - three stories tall, 35 feet in diameter, weighing 196 metric tons - each capable of maneuvering the proton beam to precisely target the patient's tumor. A fourth room utilizes a stationary beam for larger tumors in the body, including tumors of the pelvis. Pencil beam technology is currently installed in one of the gantry rooms and is used to treat adult and pediatric patients.


The Center offers patients:

* Access to the most advanced radiation therapy stateside and MD Anderson's world-renowned research, faculty and multidisciplinary patient care.


* Treatment for the most comprehensive range of disease sites including pediatric cancers and cancers of the head and neck, eye, prostate, brainstem, esophagus, lymphoma, liver and lung, among others.


* Reduced side effects and minimal damage to healthy tissue, which contribute to quality of life during and after treatment and enable patients to live longer, more fulfilling lives.


About MD Anderson

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. MD Anderson is one of only 40 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. For six of the past eight years, including 2010, MD Anderson has ranked No. 1 in cancer care in "America's Best Hospitals," a survey published annually in U.S. News & World Report.

www.mdanderson.org/proton
SOURCE The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer
http://www.mdanderson.org
http://www.mdanderson.org/proton

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