$80M SWFL high-tech cancer treatment center reaches patient milestone

Southwest Florida Proton, an $80 million cutting-edge cancer treatment facility in Lee County that opened late last year, has hit a patient milestone: 100 people treated. 

In response to the first 100 patients, the facility, Southwest Florida Proton in Estero, has expanded its treatment times to 14 hours per day “to adequately serve the demand for its services,” according to a statement. Initially, Southwest Florida Proton anticipated moving toward 14 hours per day by the end of 2026 and 16 hours per day by early 2027. 

Now, officials with the center say they may expand treatment times to 16 hours daily as early as this summer. At 9961 Estero Oaks Drive, Southwest Florida Proton operates within a 42,000-square-foot medical complex that also includes a traditional radiation practice operated by Advocate Radiation Oncology and a diagnostic imaging center managed by Lee Health. 

Southwest Florida Proton opened in December and features the Belgium-based Ion Beams Applications (IBA) ProteusOne machine. A highly advanced form of radiation therapy, proton therapy uses charged proton particles to destroy cancer cells with exceptional precision, typically resulting in fewer side effects and less radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue, the center says. 

Physicians often recommend proton therapy for pediatric malignancies, curable brain tumors, tumors of the skull base and spine, eye tumors, and select patients with breast, esophageal, head and neck, liver, lung, prostate, lymphoma and sarcoma cancers, the release adds. 

“For years, doctors in Southwest Florida have been referring patients to proton centers in other parts of Florida or the U.S., so we knew the need and demand were both there,” Dr. Arie Dosoretz, CEO and managing partner of Southwest Florida Proton, says in the release. “Having the newest IBA ProteusONE system in the world right here at home certainly makes it easier for Southwest Florida residents to access proton therapy.”

Southwest Florida Proton, including the purchase of the complex medical equipment, construction costs and operation of the treatment center, is backed by a group of undisclosed investors. Dosoretz leads the center, along with Medical Directors Dr. Shannon MacDonald and Dr. Todd Pezzi; Operations Director Joseph Kacsmar; Senior Director of Proton Medical Physics Mark Artz; Director of Medical Dosimetry Linnae Campbell and a team of highly trained radiation therapists and patient care specialists.