Radiation oncologist Dr. Andrew K. Lee, a pioneer in the field of proton therapy, has been selected as medical director of the Texas Center for Proton Therapy.
The 63,000-square-foot Irving-Las Colinas center, North Texas’ first proton therapy treatment facility, is a collaboration of Texas Oncology, The US Oncology Network, McKesson Specialty Health and Baylor Health Enterprises. The center is expected to treat its first patients in late 2015. “Dr. Lee is one of the finest, most experienced and committed cancer physicians in oncology today.
Combining his outstanding clinical skills and expertise with the most advanced proton therapy technology available is a major step forward in cancer care in Texas,” said Dr. Steve Paulson, chairman and president of Texas Oncology. Until now, Dallas-Fort Worth was the largest metropolitan area in the United States without a proton therapy treatment facility.
Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation treatment that delivers precisely targeted radiation to tumors, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue, which reduces side effects and helps patients maintain quality of life during and after treatment. Lee joins the Texas Center for Proton Therapy after almost 14 years at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, including serving as director of MD Anderson Proton Center.
Lee launched proton therapy treatment at MD Anderson almost nine years ago, treating the facility’s first proton therapy patient in 2006. He was the first physician in North America to treat patients with pencil-beam scanning. Lee has been consistently named to the U.S. News & World Report list of Best Doctors in America and was recently recognized at MD Anderson as the first and only radiation oncologist to receive the University Cancer Foundation Faculty Achievement Award in Patient Care.
Lee is board certified in radiation oncology, specializing in prostate and other genitourinary cancers. He earned his medical degree at the University of Minnesota Medical School and completed his residency in radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School-Joint Center for Radiation Therapy. He also earned a master’s degree in public health, with an emphasis on clinical effectiveness, from the Harvard School of Public Health.
The Texas Center for Proton Therapy will feature an advanced fixed beam treatment room, and two isocentric gantry treatment rooms, each containing a 30-foot tall, 110-ton machine that rotates 360 degrees to enable the most accurate positioning of the proton beams on patient tumors.
The center will offer concierge services, focused therapeutic activities for patients, families and caregivers, and a children’s activities room/learning center.