The "Lucky To Live In Lancaster!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Thinking of all the good reasons to live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  First of all it is one of the best places in the country in which to retire due to all the retirement communities we have in Lancaster.  Second, it is known as the "Garden Spot of America" due to its rich, fertile soil that is farmed by  Amish, Mennonite and a wide variety of other farm families.  And, now I have one more reason to live in the city I call home.  Lancaster County will have its own Proton therapy center in the United States.  

The Ann B. Barshinger Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The Ann B. Barshinger Center, part of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health will build a $48 million, one room facility that will be able to treat 30 patients a day.  Doesn't sound to be such a big deal until you realize that the 8,000 square foot center will house a massive piece of therapy equipment in a building with very few windows and extremely thick concrete walls.  It will be only the second proton therapy center in Pennsylvania and will work in partnership with Penn's center in Philadelphia that is described as "the largest and most advanced in the world."  Residents who now live in Lancaster County, as well as surrounding counties, now have to travel to Philadelphia for cancer treatments.  At times their therapy might take many consecutive days of treatment and it can be extremely tiring to make the trip to Philadelphia on a daily basis.  Eventually we will be able to receive treatment in our home county.  Proton therapy is most useful in combination with other treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy.  And, when the building is completed, Lancaster patients will be given a chance to take part in clinical trials and expanding use of precision medicine that is using increasingly targeted approaches.  My wife went through cancer treatments recently and had to spend part of Monday thru Friday at the Barshinger Center for a month.  Having to drive to Philadelphia daily for a month would have been taxing for both she and I, so having a new center in Lancaster will be a definite benefit for local residents.  

The proposed new one room proton therapy center.

Proton therapy costs about twice what other types of radiation therapy cost and at present isn't totally covered by insurance, if at all.  After seeing the benefits of the new therapy, the insurance companies may see the benefit in paying more for the treatments.  Proton therapy is also a shorter treatment time period then other treatments, thus less of an expense time wise.  That might be  another reason to want to cover the treatments with insurance coverage.  As I read more about the therapy, I found that it can be used for eye, brain and spinal tumors as well as pediatric cancers.  It is projected as a therapy for lung, gynecological, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal cancers.  The new center will not open until the fall of 2021, but it gives those in the immediate area hope that if they might develop a proton treated disease, they will get first class treatments in Lancaster County.  Another plus for living in Lancaster. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.