- La Fe Hospital will have a proton therapy plant, a special type of radiotherapy that uses protons instead of x-rays
- The facilities will have an investment of more than 50 million euros, half of which corresponds to the equipment donated by the Amancio Ortega Foundation
The president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, has spoken about the entry of the Valencian Community “into the top flight of the fight against cancer in Spain” with the acceleration of the works of the future proton therapy plant at the Hospital La Fe de València, during the visit to the site that will house this new facility.
It was a visit that was also attended by the Minister of Health, Marciano Gómez, along with the oncology service team at Hospital La Fe.
The head of the Consell highlighted the improvements that this new treatment will entail, which we have received with open arms, “especially as this proton therapy equipment is installed in the Community within the umbrella that we enjoy in public health.”
To accommodate this new oncological treatment technology, the hospital will create a new 5,491 square meter building that includes a 351 square meter bunker.
The new therapy centre has an investment of 50 million euros, half of which corresponds to the equipment donated by the Amancio Ortega Foundation. The drafting of the project and the execution of the works necessary to install it amount to a further 25 million euros and will be carried out by the Ministry of Health.
During his speech, Mazón expressed his gratitude to the Amancio Ortega Foundation. Work on the proton therapy centre will begin this summer and the building will be completed in a year. The therapy centre will be operational in the second half of 2026.
The Ministry of Health will supervise the installation and start-up, providing the necessary human resources for the use of the equipment, the staff training plan and maintenance. The president stated that the Consell “is putting in all the necessary resources so that no one is left out of the latest generation of these advanced treatments.”
This new treatment system will be used for cancer patients and brain tumors, head and neck, spinal cord, lung, eye tumors, sarcomas, and especially for pediatric cancer patients.
During the visit, Carlos Mazón also had a few words of gratitude for the Valencian health system for its action during the fire that occurred in the Campanar neighborhood of València last week.
Pioneering system
Proton therapy is a special modality of radiation therapy that uses protons instead of x-rays (electrons), allowing for a more localised release of radiation, better dose distribution, and less irradiation of surrounding healthy tissue. This makes it especially beneficial for long-surviving cancer patients and, especially, in the pediatric population.
This new equipment is one of the 10 such equipments that the Amancio Ortega Foundation has donated to the National Health System. The high-precision, state-of-the-art apparatus will be installed at the La Fe Hospital and will provide service to patients in the public network of the entire Valencian Community as well as other neighbouring territories. It will be the first proton therapy equipment in the Valencian public network.
The launch of the new proton therapy equipment will require the addition of 39 new staff who will join the 61 professionals the hospital already has, so in total there will be 100 specialists who will provide this new oncological treatment service.
