The need for protons is great compared to available treatment slots. An estimated 250,000 patients could benefit from proton therapy annually while only 6,000 treatment slots are available through the five centers that have been operating to date.

"This is a very important treatment and it's great to have it here in Oklahoma," said Stewart Taylor, an Oklahoma City resident who had proton therapy five years ago at a center in California. "I talk to patients who had other treatments and are dealing with side effects every day of their lives and I'm very grateful I had the chance to have proton therapy. I'm one of the lucky ones; I can go for days without even thinking about having had cancer."

"Our pledge as a company is to build proton centers until every patient with cancer who could benefit has access to this advanced treatment," said Hadley Ford, CEO of ProCure. "Oklahoma City is the first in a network of centers that we have under construction and in development. Our dream is becoming a reality." ProCure has a second center under construction in the suburbs of Chicago, scheduled to open in early 2011; and centers in development in New Jersey, south Florida and Detroit, Mich.

At the opening, Ford acknowledged energy executive and philanthropist Aubrey K. McClendon, who is co-founder, chairman and CEO of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corporation, and who personally provided the initial $70 million funding for ProCure. Ford noted that McClendon had "extraordinary vision to make sure Oklahomans with cancer could receive locally the finest cancer care and treatment anywhere."

"This is a world-class, innovative cancer care facility and its construction and operations have exceeded all of my expectations," said McClendon. "I know that many Oklahomans recently affected by cancer could have benefited from proton treatment, but did not have easy access to this technology. For too long cancer patients in this area of the country have had to travel too far to receive the benefits of proton therapy.

"ProCure's vision to make proton therapy more accessible to cancer patients caught my attention three years ago. The company has done an exceptional job developing and constructing this facility since that time. I am pleased to have played a part in bringing proton cancer therapy to Oklahoma. I am especially proud of my association with Shannon Self, Tom Blalock, John Frick and Dr. W.C. Goad and his physician partners, Stan Hupfeld and the entire INTEGRIS organization along with ProCure and its management and medical teams, who all deserve the lion share of the credit in bringing this amazing cancer treatment facility to Oklahoma City. Similar to having the NBA Thunder in town, having one of only six proton cancer treatment centers in Oklahoma City will put us on the cancer care map in a way we have never been before. This is another great day in Oklahoma City's history," McClendon said.

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