Rep. Fishbein Urges Approval of Wallingford Cancer Therapy Center

In strong support of advancing access to cutting edge healthcare options, State Representative Craig Fishbein (R-90) in a letter asked the Connecticut Office of Health Strategy to approve a proposal to establish a proton beam cancer therapy center in Wallingford.

Joined in support of the project by Wallingford Mayor William Dickinson, the proposed joint venture between Hartford Healthcare and Yale New Haven Health System would bring one of the newest and most efficient cancer treatment facilities to the region while also providing thousands of dollars in tax revenue and ancillary benefits to Wallingford.

“The precision that doctors are able to achieve with proton beam therapy is astounding and locating a cutting-edge facility in Wallingford will allow patients from throughout the state convenient access to life-saving technology,” Rep. Fishbein said. “Approval of this facility is critically important to the delivery of state-of-the-art, accessible treatments that have been proven effective while reducing the exposure to surrounding tissues, which is extremely important when treating breast, lung, spine and other tumors. Presently, Connecticut residents currently seeking this treatment are forced to leave the state, and there are only a few options in the Northeast.”

According to an announcement by Hartford Healthcare and Yale New Haven Health, proton therapy is used for the treatment of many forms of cancer tumors, including in the brain and central nervous system, head, neck, liver, eye, spine, breast, lung, prostate and more.

In his letter of support, Rep. Fishbein noted that proton beam therapy is the most technologically advanced radiation treatment available, delivering a more finely controlled dose of radiation to cancerous tumors than is possible with other forms of radiotherapy. This allows for the safe administration of higher doses with fewer, less-severe side effects. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated to significantly reduce the risk of developing a secondary cancer from initial treatment, he said.

In a separate letter of support to the Connecticut Office of Health Strategy, Mayor Dickinson said approval of a Certificate of Need for this project will make it the first proton therapy center in the state.