BayCare has opened a $33 million proton therapy center at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, adding another option for cancer patients in the Tampa Bay region who need the radiation treatment.
The BayCare Proton Center, located at the hospital’s Fred J. Woods Radiation Therapy Center, is accepting patients, the health system announced this week. It offers proton therapy to eligible adults and children.
Proton therapy uses charged particles called protons to target tumors while limiting radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. The approach can be particularly useful for tumors near critical organs and for some children, whose developing bodies may be more vulnerable to radiation’s long-term effects.
Unlike conventional radiation therapy, which uses X-rays, proton therapy can concentrate radiation at a specific depth in the body, reducing the dose delivered beyond the target. Whether it offers an advantage over other treatments depends on the type and location of the cancer and the individual patient.
BayCare uses a compact proton therapy system developed by Mevion Medical Systems. Unlike older proton therapy facilities that required large accelerators and multiple treatment rooms, compact systems are designed to fit into a smaller footprint, making the technology more practical to install in existing health care settings.
Like many new facilities, BayCare's system uses an upright patient positioning chair, allowing treatment while seated. The chair may make treatment more comfortable for some adults and children and help patients who have difficulty lying flat because of conditions such as chronic lung disease, according to BayCare.
“The upright patient chair is an important differentiating technology of our proton therapy system, enabling our team to provide more comfortable treatments while maintaining the high precision of proton therapy,” said John Greskovich, medical director of the BayCare Department of Radiation Oncology.
The BayCare opening adds to the growing availability of proton therapy on Florida’s west coast.
Moffitt Cancer Center’s proton therapy center at its Speros outpatient campus in Land O’ Lakes and Southwest Florida Proton in Estero, which is affiliated with Lee Health, are accepting patients.
The treatment is also at the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville, Orlando Health Cancer Institute in Orlando, and the Miami Cancer Institute, which is affiliated with Baptist Health South Florida.
In 2023, Tampa General Hospital announced plans to build a proton therapy facility.
BayCare’s broader cancer care network includes radiation oncology programs at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg and Winter Haven Hospital.
