Mayo Clinic is spending $200 million to expand its proton beam therapy center, which is overwhelmed with patient demand despite criticisms at the time of its construction that it would be a costly and inefficient form of cancer care, the Star Tribune reports.
Patients are filling up every slot at Mayo’s 6-year-old center, which uses a particle accelerator to direct focused beams of proton radiation that target tumors and minimize damage to surrounding tissues. The center operates four treatment rooms from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every weekday and makes rare midnight or weekend runs for patients with urgent needs. Read more.
