Kathy Toppins

EDMOND — Integrated, comprehensive and advanced cancer treatment became available in central Oklahoma with the recent opening of the Integris Cancer Institute of Oklahoma on a campus shared with the ProCure Proton Therapy Center.

“I have not seen anything like this anywhere in the country. This stands on its own as the finest cancer facility in this country,” said Hadley Ford, ProCure chief executive officer.

Speaking at the cancer institute’s grand opening Wednesday, Philip Lance, president of the Integris Cancer Institute, said, “It’s a very unusual arrangement. It’s very significant that we, as a health care system, have integrated our facilities with a private provider, ProCure Proton Therapy.”

ProCure is the only community-based proton therapy cancer campus in the United States, Lance said.

“It is also a wonderful resource for Oklahomans and cancer patients and families beyond the state of Oklahoma,” he said. Both cancer treatment providers are at 5911 W. Memorial Road.

The Edmond resident and native Oklahoman said 95 percent of Integris cancer treatment services are now “under one roof and so that gives us a very comprehensive approach to cancer care and delivery. And, again, we’ve seamlessly integrated that with our private provider partner, ProCure Proton Therapy Center.”

A discussion that began two and a half years ago, Lance said, centered on how the two organizations “could truly take a quantum leap forward in the arena of cancer care. Through those discussions, through that strategic planning, we came to formulate what you see here today.”

Gov. Brad Henry said, “I seriously doubt that there is anybody in this crowd today who hasn’t been affected in some way or another by this horrible disease, cancer.” He said his father died of lung cancer.

While the state has provided traditional cancer therapies, Henry said, “if there was a need for non-traditional therapies, if there was a need for a multidisciplinary team approach, if there was a need to utilize clinical trials, Oklahomans have had to travel more than 400 miles to get those kinds of non-traditional services and therapies.” Having this new facility in Oklahoma will save lives, the governor said.

Bruce Lawrence, president-elect and chief operating officer of Integris Health, said the groundbreaking for the Integris Cancer Institute was in May 2008.

“A tremendous amount of work has occurred in a very short period of time to lead to what we see here today,” Lawrence said.

“This is an absolutely stunning building,” said Stanley Hupfeld, president and CEO of Integris Health.

Ford, explaining the proton therapy offered at ProCure, said, “The secret behind proton therapy is you can deliver radiation where you want it and you can keep radiation from where you don’t want it. It’s just that simple.” With proton therapy, cancer patients typically experience fewer side effects, fewer complications and a much better quality of life during treatment.

Kiran Prabhu, radiation oncologist with the Integris Cancer Institute, also discussed proton therapy as the most sophisticated form of radiation. “It is like a firecracker that can be triggered to go off directly at the target causing little collateral damage.”

She said proton therapy is useful in treating tumors that require a high dose of radiation and malignancies in childhood, when surrounding growing tissue is sensitive to radiation.

She said the group also will be involved in clinical trials and research focused on improving outcomes. Patients will have access to support services, such as acupuncture, massage therapy, genetic counseling and survivorship and support groups.

Cancer survivors at the grand opening included Helen Hendricks, famous for her inclusion as a breast cancer survivor with Prabhu, her radiation oncologist, in an Integris television commercial. A cancer survivor for 10 years, Hendricks said she now works as a greeter at the Newcastle Walmart. “I’ve done a lot of ministry work with people who have seen the commercial,” Hendricks said.

Hendricks said she had just moved to Oklahoma from California when she was diagnosed with cancer. “I couldn’t have been at a better place,” Hendricks said. “Everything was so personal. I loved Integris.”

ktoppins@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 112