SAN ANTONIO — A specialized way to fight cancer is coming to San Antonio.
On Thursday, City Council signed off on an economic development agreement to build a new proton therapy treatment center, the first of its kind in San Antonio.
Doctors say this treatment is easier on a patient than traditional radiation therapy. The facility will be built in city councilman Manny Pelaez’s district.
“We’re not just going to fight cancer, we’re going to be eradicating cancer in San Antonio, one cell at a time, one proton at a time,” Councilman Pelaez said.
Councilman Pelaez called it a win-win for patients, medical faculty and the local research groups that will benefit from the center.
The new proton therapy treatment center will be built in the Medical Center, one of several projects planned for the area.
UT Health San Antonio staff say this is a key tool in fighting cancer.
“This is a developing biotechnology that is becoming more popular and more necessary for treating complex cancers,” UT Health San Antonio president William Henrich says proton therapy has been around for decades—but the technology just started becoming affordable.
“Because it involves a cyclotron that breaks up the atom and provides this new technology which is actually more precise and causes less tissue damage than traditional gamma rays and radiation therapy,” Henrich said.
UT Health San Antonio will be a research partner with the company Proton International--who is building the center.
The city tells KENS 5 the agreement approved by city council is a rebate on city property taxes. When the center is constructed and generates property taxes, Proton will get 50% of their property tax back for six years. $828,000 is the anticipated rebate for that time.
The price tag of the development is $68 million and city documents state the center can treat 450 patients a year.
On top of accepting Medicare and Medicaid—charity and hardship programs are available to patients.
It also cuts down on the commute and travel cost often associated with such treatments. Instead of families having to drive to Houston or Dallas, they can get this treatment right here in the Medical Center.
“They don’t have to miss work and they don’t have to be away from their families and rent a house in order to get this treatment, they can do it in their own backyard,” Councilman Pelaez said.
Once the center opens in an estimated two years, it will be a key tool in fighting cancer.
“It opens up a whole new possibility set for how we could make the future even brighter for patients who face cancer,” Henrich said.