Proton Therapy History

A Legacy of Healing

For more than a decade, Loma Linda proton facility physicians have been providing proton beam therapy. In fact, our facility stands as the first hospital-based proton treatment facility in the world, and until 2003, was the only one of its kind in the United States.

The Proton Treatment Center is the result of twenty years of careful planning and the visionary leadership of James M. Slater, MD, FACR, and former chairman of the Department of Radiation Medicine.

Dr. Slater’s commitment was supported by Loma Linda University and Medical Center administration and the following notable leadership:

• David B. Hinshaw, Sr., MD, FACS, former president of Loma Linda University Medical Center
• The Boards of Trustees of the University and Medical Center, especially the Boards’ president, Pastor Neal Wilson, former president of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Several government leaders, especially Representative Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands, California)

Many innovative individuals have helped to make the Loma Linda proton treatment facility a reality. And all of these visionaries viewed our facility as an unparalleled opportunity to offer patients and their families the highest quality, state-of-the-art medical care.  We continue to offer that care and to build on the foundation they established.

A Proton Treatment Center Timeline

1990:

• Center opens; first patient treated

1991:

• Second proton beam line commissioned
• Treatment for brain cancer and patients with cancers of the head and neck begins
• First worldwide use of a gantry to deliver proton beam therapy
• First proton treatment for prostate cancer provided

1992:

• Groundbreaking ceremonies held for radiobiological research building
• U.S. Representative Jerry Lewis acknowledged with naming of A-level floor in his honor

1993:

• 500^th patient treated

1994:

• Second and third gantries begin clinical operation
• NASA and Loma Linda University Medical Center sign agreement to research ways to protect astronauts from space radiation

1995:

• Dr. Robert R. Wilson is special guest and a gantry named in his honor
• Construction begins on radiobiological research laboratories
• NASA makes first on-site visit

1996:

• 2,000^th patient treated
• At ceremony honoring Congressman Jerry Lewis, new Loma Linda University cancer research facility/School of Medicine building is dedicated

1997:

• 3,000^th patient treated
• Radiobiological research for medical and space-travel applications begins in new laboratory facilities

1998:

• Department of Radiation Medicine reports treating 100 patients with protons and 100 patients with photon beams in a single day

2000:

• 5,000^th patient treated

2002:

• Number of patients treated daily with protons reaches 150
• 7,500^th patient treated

2004:

• Department of Radiation Medicine publishes peer-reviewed article indicating long-term success in prostate cancer treatment

2005:

• 10,000^th patient treated

2007:

• 11,000^th patient treated