UNC Chapel Hill might have landed Bill Belichick last week, but Duke University didn’t have a bad week either. Its health system got $50 million from an anonymous donor to help develop a proton beam therapy center.
It’s the largest philanthropic gift received by Duke University Health System.
“This is a historic gift, both for Duke and for the state of North Carolina,” Duke University President Vincent Price said in a release. “The Duke Proton Center will have a profound impact on cancer care in our region, and we are very grateful for the generous donor support that is making these advances possible.”
Duke expects to open the proton beam therapy facility by 2029 at a projected cost of $120 million. It is likely to provide therapy to about 800 patients each year.
Proton therapy is a more precise type of radiation that has fewer side effects than conventional radiation therapy. The precision enables better direction and control of radiation delivered to the tumor, sparing healthy tissue, Duke officials said. That’s particularly important for children and tumors in the head and neck.
“For brain tumor patients, that means reducing toxicity that damages cognition and in breast cancer patients that means limiting damage to heart function,” said Dr. Chris Willett, chair of the Duke’s radiation oncology department.
Duke also expects much research at the center to build on its expertise in medical physics and oncology.
“Proton therapy is increasingly becoming the treatment of choice for a variety of different cancers,” said Dr. Michael Kastan, executive director of the Duke Cancer Institute. “Having proton therapy at Duke will enable us to push those boundaries even further, improving current applications and developing new ones through innovative clinical trials.”
Newsweek earlier this year rated Duke University Hospital at No. 16 on the list of the best U.S. hospitals, the highest ranking for a North Carolina institution. The medical center ranked No. 68 globally, Newsweek said.
Duke University received a $100 million donation last year from the Charlotte-based Duke Endowment. It has provided more than $2 billion to Duke, including the health system, since industrialist James B. Duke formed the endowment in 1925.
Duke Health also last week said it was acquiring Lake Norman Regional Medical Center for $280 million. The Mooresville hospital is being sold by Community Health Systems of Brentwood, Tennesseee. It was Duke Health’s first hospital acquisition in many years.