- The building is 57,000 square feet
- Construction of the building required 13,000 cubic yards of concrete (45 ½ million lbs)
- Within the concrete are 2 million lbs of rebar (reinforced steel)
- The building contains 20 miles electrical conduit and 138 miles of wire (enough to go from Seattle to Mt. Rainier)
- It contains 16 miles of fiber optics
- The walls between treatment rooms are 5 feet of thick concrete
- The walls around the cyclotron are 9 feet of concrete
- The ceiling above the cyclotron is 12 feet of concrete
- The cyclotron weighs 220 tons
- The gantry weighs 110 tons and is 30 feet tall, although only 10 feet are visible.
- The proton beam is around the size of a human hair

Advantages and benefits of proton therapy
Both standard X-ray (photon) radiation therapy and proton therapy attack tumors by preventing cancer cells from dividing and growing. The difference between the two treatments is that protons can precisely target the tumor and reduce damage to healthy tissue near the tumor. Protons also offer a better opportunity to increase the treatment dose to the tumor if needed.
Research shows that proton therapy can cause fewer short- and long-term side effects than standard radiation therapy, reducing the occurrence of secondary tumors and improving quality of life for patients.
Benefits of proton therapy at a glance
- Proven to be effective in adults and children
- Causes fewer short- and long-term side effects
- Reduces the likelihood of secondary tumors caused by treatment
- Allows potential increase in treatment dose
- Can be used to treat recurrent tumors even in patients who have already received radiation
The science of proton therapy
X-rays are electromagnetic waves that penetrate tissue, gradually losing energy as they move along. For even the most energetic clinical X-ray beams available, the depth at which the maximum dose of radiation is delivered ranges between 0.5 cm and 3.5 cm. Because tumors are often located deeper than this range, a higher dose is invariably delivered to the normal tissue in front of the tumor. When the X-rays exit the tumor, they continues to deposit radiation dose and affect healthy tissue as it leaves the body. These issues can cause a variety of short- and long-term side effects, some of which can seriously affect quality of life and health.
Protons are heavy charged particles that can be manipulated to release their energy at a precise point. The radiation deposited by a proton beam increases gradually with depth and then suddenly rises to a peak, known as the Bragg Peak. The Bragg Peak is designed to conform to the tumor. Immediately after that point, the radiation dose falls to zero, which also spares normal tissue on the far side of the tumor volume. It also means that a higher dose often can be delivered, potentially leading to more effective treatment in some cases.

With X-ray radiation therapy (black line), the radiation dose peaks soon after entering the body and often, long before reaching the tumor, gradually decreases. Healthy tissue surrounding the tumor receives much of the dose. With proton therapy (blue lines), treatment conforms more closely to the tumor, so that less radiation is deposited in the healthy tissue in front of the tumor compared to X-ray therapy, and almost none is deposited in the healthy tissue behind the tumor.