Leaders in Lifesaving Proton Therapy

If you are receiving cancer treatment, you want the latest, most advanced therapies available delivered by the most experienced team of experts in the region. Proton therapy may be an option for you, but where you receive proton therapy matters.

The Proton Therapy Center at The University of Kansas Cancer Center, the region’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and 1 of fewer than 60 nationwide, offers the most advanced and precise form of radiation therapy available for cancer today. We were the first proton center in Kansas and in the Kansas City region, and our team of proton experts, which was hand-selected from across the country, is the most experienced.

If you or a loved one is facing cancer, you no longer need to travel out of the region to receive this innovative treatment.

Proton therapy offers numerous advantages over traditional X-ray or photon radiation. The highly specialized and technologically advanced form of radiation targets tumors and spares surrounding healthy tissues by using a pencil-thin beam of protons to deliver radiation directly to the tumor. People receive proton therapy treatments, which are noninvasive and painless, on an outpatient basis. Most patients retain a high quality of life during and after treatments.

One of the greatest benefits of proton therapy is that it conforms to the shape of your tumor. This allows for more effective treatment and helps your surrounding organs and tissues avoid unnecessary radiation. Proton therapy is an option for many types of cancer that affect adults and children. It can be used in combination with chemotherapy and surgery.

Depending on your particular diagnosis, proton therapy may be a treatment option for cancers of the brain, breast, colon, throat (head and neck), GI tract (esophagus, liver, rectum and stomach), lung, prostate, sarcoma and other cancer types. Proton therapy is also especially beneficial for many pediatric cancers.

Where you receive proton therapy matters and our powerhouse team of proton experts has more than 115 years of combined proton therapy experience all under one roof. These 30 proton experts include nationally and internationally renowned radiation oncologists, medical physicists, dosimetrists and proton radiation therapists – all of whom were recruited from across the US to join The University of Kansas Cancer Center’s proton therapy team. This expertise is important to ensure patients receive the right treatment to achieve the best possible outcome. Experience matters.

Region’s most advanced proton therapy technology

Proton therapy technology matters and the Proton Therapy Center at The University of Kansas Cancer Center has the world’s leading proton equipment from IBA ProteusOne®. IBA is the global leader in proton technology and more than 100,000 patients worldwide have been treated with IBA equipment, far more than any other proton manufacturer. With precise imaging on the IBA ProteusOne, and the ability of both the machine and the treatment table to move to position the proton beam “just right,” this technology allows the most accurate proton treatment to the tumor while minimizing the dose to surrounding organs and tissues. Having the best technology matters. Accuracy matters.

As leaders in our field, we pride ourselves on giving our patients the best possible odds for beating cancer – because we know what really counts is the number of lives saved – while preserving the highest quality of life. Since our proton center opened in April 2022, we have successfully treated hundreds of patients.

Our proton center is part of the region’s only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. Comprehensive designation, the highest level of recognition awarded by the NCI, is the gold standard of excellence, awarded only to cancer centers with the deepest and broadest knowledge of cancer. Patients treated at NCI-designated cancer centers have a 25% greater chance of survival than patients treated at other cancer centers.

Because we are part of an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center, proton therapy is but one treatment option of an overall comprehensive care plan we provide our patients. Our multidisciplinary team, which includes radiation oncologists, surgeons, medical oncologists and other team members, works together with the patient at the center to create a personalized care plan with the most leading-edge treatment options available.

Seamless patient experience

Patients at our proton center are personally guided by a proton therapy-dedicated nurse navigator, who makes the entire treatment process as easy for you as possible. If you are interested in proton therapy or simply want a second opinion about treatment options, submit your information below and a nurse navigator will contact you to set up an appointment with one of our experts. The nurse navigator can also answer any questions you may have. If proton therapy is the best treatment option for you, our team will support you throughout the entire journey.