PHOTOS: $300M Cancer Center Opens In East Harlem

EAST HARLEM, NY — A new 140,000-square-foot medical facility that is one of only 30 facilities in the United States to employ new proton therapy treatments for cancer opened this week in East Harlem, city officials announced.

The New York Proton Center, located on East 125th Street between Second and Third avenues, is expected to use proton therapy to treat 1,400 patients every year. The center will be operated as a partnership between Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Montefiore Health System and the Mount Sinai Health System.

More than 20 radiation oncologists from the hospital systems will work at the New York Proton Center to administer treatments to patients suffering from different types of cancers such as brain and spine tumors, lung cancer, sarcomas, lymphomas and recurrence cancers, city officials said. Proton therapy, while still not widely available, is gaining acceptance as an effective alternative to traditional x-ray radiation therapy needed by many cancer patients, but with fewer side effects.

"Proton therapy has proven highly successful in treating a wide variety of cancers and has increasingly become an integral tool in reducing side effects and preserving quality of life," Dr. Charles Simone, New York Proton Center’s Chief Medical Officer, said in a statement. "Patients throughout the tri-state area and beyond now have access to the most advanced radiation treatment currently available."

The opening of the proton center is part of a city initiative launched by the New York City Economic Development Corporation called the East 125th Street Development project. The project aims to bring increased affordable housing, commercial and retail space and medical offices to under-developed areas of East Harlem. The New York Proton Center is located across Second Avenue from another site, the former East 125th Street bus depot, due for a major city-led development.

"The New York Proton Center is the first of its kind in New York State and will offer cutting-edge treatment to both adults and children battling cancer. Its presence in East Harlem will render the neighborhood home to advanced, innovative cancer treatment – all while contributing to the transformation and revitalization of East 125th Street," local City Council Member Diana Ayala said in a statement.

Check out more photos of the New York Proton Center below:

All photos courtesy STANTEC/PROTON NYC

Patch reporter Gus Saltonstall constributed to this report.