Proton center offers groundbreaking treatment

LITTLE ROCK — The Proton Center of Arkansas opened Wednesday at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), becoming the first proton therapy center in Arkansas and only the 43rd in the nation to provide the most advanced cancer radiation treatment in the world.

Proton therapy is a cutting-edge form of radiation that uses positively charged proton particles to destroy tumors, often in hard-to-reach areas, with greater precision and significantly less damage to healthy organs and tissues. Patients receiving proton therapy have less severe and fewer side effects than conventional X-ray radiation, which improves their recovery time and quality of life.

“What started more than three years ago with a shared vision to bring the most advanced cancer therapy to Arkansas is finally here,” said UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA. “It’s a proud day for UAMS and for health care in Arkansas as we join a small, elite group of states that offer this groundbreaking therapy for children and adults with cancer.”

Recognizing the burden on patients forced to travel out of state for the sought after therapy, UAMS joined with Arkansas Children’s, Baptist Health and Proton International to build the Proton Center of Arkansas. “From opening the UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Clinic and Infusion Center to Arkansas’ first proton center, this is another example of how strategic collaboration with other leading health care providers can improve the health of Arkansans,” said Troy Wells, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “Baptist Health is thrilled to help bring this therapy to our state knowing that patients are going to be able to receive the best cancer care right here in Arkansas.”

“Proton International is focused on a singular mission – to bring proton therapy to more people who can benefit from it,” said Chris Chandler, director of Proton International. “The fact that we can now make this available to the residents of Arkansas and the surrounding areas is a mission fulfilled.”

Proton therapy is used to treat a wide range of cancers in both children and adults, including brain, spine, breast, esophageal, head and neck, liver, lung, lymphomas, eye, pancreatic and sarcomas.

Proton therapy is the preferred treatment for children who face risks from unnecessary radiation exposure that adults do not, such as developmental delays, hormone deficiencies, effects on bone growth, and potential long-term effects of secondary cancers in exposed tissues.

“This is an exciting day for advancing child health in Arkansas,” said Marcy Doderer, FACHE, president and CEO of Arkansas Children’s.

“Through this partnership, the children we serve will now have access to this specialized treatment close to home.”

UAMS is the only provider of radiation therapy for children in Arkansas.

The Proton Center of Arkansas is part of the new $65 million UAMS Radiation Oncology Center, which opened in July at 3900 W. Capitol Ave. in Little Rock in a building adjacent to the UAMS Winthrop P.

Rockefeller Cancer Institute. The Proton Center occupies 9,000 square feet on the second floor of the threestory center and includes the proton

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treatment room, a CT room to prepare patients for proton therapy, a highdose radiation room, gowning rooms, recovery rooms, an anesthesia room, eight exam rooms, a large family area for pediatric patients, and a physician work room.

UAMS broke ground on the 58,000square-foot Radiation Oncology Center in May 2021, primarily to accommodate the proton center. The 55-ton cyclotron, a type of particle accelerator that powers the proton beam, made a cross-country journey by land and sea to Little Rock. Starting in Belgium, the massive equipment that included the 75-ton gantry, traveled by sea for five weeks, then by police escort on six semi-tractor trailers from the Port of Houston to Little Rock.

The proton treatment room features a unique ambient experience that allows patients to choose a room theme and color that is digitally displayed on the walls and ceiling. This is especially helpful in reducing anxiety in children during treatment.

The center expects to begin treating patients with proton therapy this month and is equipped to deliver the therapy to as many as 40 patients per day. Proton treatments typically take 30 minutes.

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Anonymous winner takes home $5.75 million in ‘Lucky for Life’ lottery drawing, quits job

LITTLE ROCK — A Pulaski County resident recently claimed a $5.75 million Lucky for Life grand prize at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) Claim Center in Little Rock. The Arkansan, who elected to remain anonymous, ordered the winning ticket on the Jackpocket mobile app for the Sept. 12 drawing.

The winning numbers were 3, 11, 13, 26 and 45, with Lucky Ball 13. The Arkansas lottery player won the jackpot by matching all five numbers plus the Lucky Ball. He played a special set of numbers — his birthday (11/3), the age difference between him and his wife and the street number of two previous addresses (13), his age when he lost his father (26), and his age when his son was born (45).

After the drawing, Jackpocket sent the winner a congratulatory email notifying him that he had scored the $5.75 million prize. However, the player did not discover he had won anything until the following day.

'I check my emails every morning at work,' the winner told lottery officials. 'I play Lucky for Life all the time and was shocked when I saw that I had won the grand prize. I asked a close friend to confirm the win because I didn't think it was real. My friend thought it was a joke, so I asked my boss to check my ticket.'

The winner’s boss told him that he was, in fact, a multi-millionaire and that he needed to go home and tell his wife. It also took some convincing for her to realize he was not kidding.

The Arkansas lottery player had his choice of taking $7,000 a week for life or the cash option of $5.75 million.

The 64-year-old winner selected the cash option and took home $4,099,750 after taxes. He is the 99th person who has won a lottery prize worth $1 million or more in Arkansas since 2009.

“I quit my job and would like my wife to do the same,” he said. “She’s a workaholic and wants to work toward semi-retirement.”

The couple plans to finish some ongoing projects with the lottery prize.

The player is also the second person in Arkansas to win the Lucky for Life grand prize and is now tied as the third-largest jackpot ever won in the state on any lottery game. The last Lucky for Life winner was from Pine Bluff and claimed his $5.75 million grand prize earlier this year.

“As I have said many times, nothing makes us happier than to award lottery prizes to our players,” Eric Hagler, ASL executive director, said.

“Arkansas is definitely on a lotterywinning streak.” Retailers receive a 1 percent commission from the sale of winning lottery products. Winners Corner, the retailer associated with ticket orders placed on Jackpocket, will receive a $50,000 commission check for selling the winning ticket. Lucky for Life is a multi-state game with drawings seven days a week at 9:30 p.m. The game was introduced to Arkansas in January 2015. Each Lucky for Life play is $2 and can be purchased at all lottery retailers or on the Jackpocket app.

For information on game odds and how to play, visit MyArkansasLottery. com. For more information about Jackpocket, visit Jackpocket.com.