New Center for Proton Therapy Opens in Manhattan

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With the opening of the New York Proton Center in East Harlem on June 6, Memorial Sloan Kettering marked an important milestone in helping bring cutting-edge radiation treatment to people with cancer in the New York City area. The center is a consortium of three New York City–based healthcare institutions: MSK, Montefiore Health System, and Mount Sinai Health System.

Proton therapy is a highly targeted form of radiation therapy. It destroys tumors using charged particles called protons. These particles are delivered directly to cancerous cells. The precise nature of proton therapy lowers the impact to normal tissue surrounding a tumor and reduces the risk of treatment-related side effects.

What Is Proton Beam Therapy?
Learn about proton beam therapy as a cancer treatment option at MSK and understand how the treatment works as well as its side effects.

“The opening of this facility represents an unprecedented commitment to the future of cancer treatment,” says Simon Powell, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at MSK. “New York will continue to lead in the struggle against cancer by offering groundbreaking treatment for many of our most vulnerable patients.”

Memorial Sloan Kettering doctors have been offering proton therapy since 2013 at a facility in Somerset, New Jersey. The New York Proton Center will be the first location to provide this sophisticated treatment in New York City.