Oklahoma City - February 19, 2009- Oklahoma City radiation oncologists, medical physicists and dosimetrists are the first group of medical professionals attending sessions at the ProCure^® Training and Development Center (TDC), the only facility in the world devoted exclusively to providing specialized training in proton therapy.   The group is participating in a rigorous training program as they prepare to begin treating patients this summer at the ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City. Training for nurses, radiation therapists and other personnel - from administrators to receptionists - will begin in the coming weeks. 

"We are fortunate to receive training in advance that enables us to treat patients sooner. With other centers, the actual facility is used for training, delaying the start of patient treatment," said William C. Goad, M.D., radiation oncologist at Radiation Medicine Associates (RMA), the physician group providing professional services at the center. "Unfortunately, patients with cancer do not have the time to wait."

The ProCure TDC, located in Bloomington, Ind., offers clinical, technical, interpersonal and administrative training that pertains to all aspects of proton therapy treatment and patient care. 

"With our full-size treatment rooms and state-of-the art equipment we simulate the total work environment for treating patients with proton therapy - with everything but the protons," said John Cameron, Ph.D., founder, chairman and president of ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc. (ProCure) and a physicist who is among the pioneers in proton therapy.

This first group of professionals will complete training in June. They will be ready when ProCure's first proton therapy center opens in Oklahoma City this summer.  It will be the sixth proton center to open in the United States and will treat about 1,500 patients with cancer a year.

Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation treatment for specific types of cancer.  Like traditional radiation therapy (which uses photons, or X-rays), protons prevent cancer cells from dividing and growing.  Proton therapy delivers radiation directly to the cancer tumor with less damage to healthy tissue or vital organs than standard radiation, and fewer short- and long-term side effects that are often experienced with standard radiation therapy.

The ProCure TDC is a $10-million, 20,000-square-foot facility that includes two treatment rooms and a fully operational 49-CT Scanner.  The TDC also has treatment planning areas, an immobilization device preparation area and lecture rooms.

"The training program is quite demanding," said Tom Doyle, vice president of national training and education for ProCure.  "Our class sizes are small - six to eight people - and participants are required to attend on-site classes where they learn how to operate all of the equipment, as well as participate in frequent web-based education programs.  There's a challenging list of materials participants must read, self-training exercises and, of course, we do give exams," Doyle said.

The curriculum includes general information about the science and application of proton therapy, as well as protocols for treating specific diseases, such as brain, head and neck, central nervous system, colorectal and prostate tumors.  The special needs of pediatric patients also are addressed by the program. 

Proton therapy, first used in a research setting in 1955, has become an established treatment option, and more than 55,000 patients worldwide have received the treatment.  It is estimated that 250,000 people in the United States could benefit from proton therapy, yet the five American centers currently operating can only treat approximately 6,000 patients each year.  Most U.S. insurance providers cover proton therapy, as does Medicare and many state Medicaid programs. 

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ABOUT PROCURE TREATMENT CENTERS
ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc., based in Bloomington, Ind., was founded in 2005 to improve the lives of patients with cancer by increasing access to proton therapy. ProCure collaborates with leading radiation oncology practices and hospitals and provides management leadership and a comprehensive approach for the design, construction, financing, staffing, training and day-to-day operations of world-class proton therapy centers. ProCure's solution reduces the time, cost and effort necessary to create a facility. ProCure is the only company in the world with a center open and treating patients, another under construction (Warrenville, Ill.) and four others in development (Seattle; Somerset, N.J.; South Florida; and Detroit, Mich.). ProCure's Training and Development Center is the first facility in the world dedicated exclusively to proton therapy. For more information, visit www.procure.com.

 About Radiation Medicine Associates (RMA)
Radiation Medicine Associates, a leading radiation oncology practice in Oklahoma City, is bringing proton therapy, the most advanced external radiation therapy treatment, to Oklahoma City. They are well known and respected clinical physicians with a long history of clinical excellence. The doctors practice at the leading institutions in the area and have pioneered the newest and most appropriate cancer treatment technologies in the community. The physicians are longstanding members of the Oklahoma community who have dedicated their professional lives to the improvement of cancer treatment.

About INTEGRIS Health
INTEGRIS Health is the state's largest Oklahoma-owned not-for-profit healthcare corporation, with hospitals, rehabilitation centers, physician clinics, mental health facilities, fitness centers, independent living centers and home health agencies throughout much of the state. Through its affiliates, INTEGRIS Health operates 13 hospitals, led in the Oklahoma City area by INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center and INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center. The organization has affiliated mental health providers in 50 Oklahoma towns and cities, and offers hospice services through Hospice of Oklahoma County.

Media Contact: Andrea Johnson
312-558-1770
ajohnson@pcipr.com