fbpx

Meet Pete, the cancer wonder machine

The 220-ton cancer fighting proton therapy cyclotron that was featured in the June edition of SFBW has arrived at Baptist Health South Florida’s Miami Cancer Institute.

The machine, nicknamed “Pete,” was shipped 4,700 miles from Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, to Port Everglades, where it was loaded into an unusual looking flatbed truck operated by two drivers who made the overnight drive to Miami. On June 14, a 140-ton gantry crane began to lift the cyclotron into its permanent home at the $430 million institute, which will open this year.

Pete will be ready for use in 2017. It will be the only cyclotron of its type in South Florida.

Why is it important?

Dr. Minesh Mehta, deputy director of Baptist Health’s Miami Cancer Institute, explained in the June issue that to target tumors, there is a need to maximize the radiation dose into the tumor while minimizing the dose to surrounding healthy tissue. Pete’s pencil-beam proton technology is the most efficient modern form of proton treatment. “It allows unprecedented ability to increase the dosage to the tumor while decreasing the radiation dose to normal tissue,” Mehta says. “We now have an elegant opportunity to decrease the number of side effects.”

In the past, proton therapy was delivered as a broad beam, making it difficult to shape to tumors, which can be asymmetrical. Mehta says historically curative radiation therapy lasted five to eight weeks with a treatment every day, amounting to 25 to 40 treatments. “Consider the potential with the duration of treatment being reduced with proton therapy to maybe being done in a week or two,” Mehta says.

The therapy is particularly effective in treating childhood cancers and adult cancers of the brain, liver and lung, as well as certain left-sided breast cancers and prostate cancers, Baptist Health said in a press release issued as the machine arrived.

The arrival of "Pete" turned in to a celebration
The arrival of “Pete” turned in to a celebration

You May Also Like
Reaching Out

I know that Stephen Garber knows people. The president of Third Level is a seasoned expert on change management, relationship building and quality-of-life issues. He is an international executive coach,

Read More
Stephen Garber
SOUTH FLORIDA BUSINESS & WEALTH GOES 2.0

This is the time and this is the page when the new editor-in-chief typically would tell you to get ready for a new SFBW experience—but since you’ve seen the cover,

Read More
Are Your Salespeople Taking Shortcuts?

Connor, a software sales rep, had been having a rough day. He’d been bombarded with questions from several customers and gotten behind on work he needed to finish before the

Read More
COVID and the Commercial Sector

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text] For South Florida’s vigorous commercial real estate sector, there is a Grand Canyon-size fissure between market conditions on March 1 and

Read More
Other Posts
Mareva 1939 Tempts Diners With Delectable Spanish Dishes in Miami Beach

The Spanish-stylish restaurant is located at The National Hotel.

Read More
Mareva 1939
A Modern Dining Ambiance With a View Greets Visitors at Universal Orlando Resort’s Aventura Hotel’s Bar 17 Bistro

The venue is a great place to visit when enjoy the local theme parks.

Read More
Universal Orlando Resort
Limo Miami Sets the Standard for Upscale and Stylish Transportation Services

Those looking for a new transportation method have a luxurious option.

Read More
Limo Miami
The Palm Beaches Holds Hospitality and Tourism Job Fair

The event has expanded to two days at different locations.

Read More
Job Fair

Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.