FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Gary Mack

July 18, 2008 630-357-7552

The following statement can be attributed to John Lewis, Executive Director of the Northern Illinois Proton Treatment & Research Center:

“Recent newspaper articles have discussed an apparent letter written by State Sen. Dan Cronin and signed by twenty-two other legislators calling the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board to task for its decision to deny Central DuPage Hospital’s request to build a second proton therapy cancer treatment center in the Chicago region and questioning Northern Illinois University’s ability to build the state’s first center. I believe, in the light of this letter, it is important to reiterate several key facts.

Officials from Northern Illinois University have worked extremely hard to bring proton therapy to our region. The Northern Illinois Proton Treatment and Research Center (NIPTRC) and its co-applicants the Northern Illinois Research Foundation (NIRF) and NIU received no preferential treatment by the IHFPB and were extensively questioned for months by IHFPB staff on the multiple facets of the application for Certificate of Exemption. NIU first contacted the IHFPB in November 2006 to explain the project and asked whether it even had to apply for a Certificate of Need (CON) or a Certificate of Exemption (COE), since the project was so unique. The COE permit was not granted until February 26, 2008, almost 16 months after its first inquiry with the IHFPB. Over that time period, thousands of pages of documentation were filed by the petitioning organizations to respond to IHFPB staff questions. In the end, the IHFPB recognized the NIPTRC and NIU’s ability to complete this important project on time as well as our extensive physics and engineering expertise necessary to successfully build and operate a proton therapy center.

Moreover, the project has received the support of dozens of elected officials including members of the Illinois General Assembly, members of the United States House of Representatives, as well as U.S. Senators Richard Durbin and Barack Obama. All have recognized NIU’s 120 years of outstanding service and dedication to our mission of teaching, research, public service and economic development of the northern Illinois region.

Therefore, it is unfortunate that a handful of individuals are calling into question whether NIU should have been approved and if we will be able to complete the project by February 2010, as required by the IHFPB. NIU followed the rules scrupulously to obtain approval for its non-profit proton therapy treatment and research center, has already broken ground, and remains on time and on budget. The opinions of those not even involved in the process should be weighed against the ‘facts on the ground.’ The ‘very real reality’ is eligible cancer patients will be able to receive proton treatment at NIU’s center in 2010, as required by the IHFPB’s approval of NIU’s Certificate.

Those calling for other such facilities to be built in the Chicago region should remember, as already stated by IHFPB, the very high cost to build proton therapy centers and Illinois’ laws prohibiting duplication of services. Research confirms that the number of proton-eligible patients in Illinois per year is between 6,000 and 9,000, but the number of actual patients who could be expected to use the treatment is far lower. As seen at most of the proton therapy centers in the U.S., the standard rate of referrals and/or elections for proton therapy is 20%. As a result, the patient base in Illinois would be around 1,500. When completed, the NIPTRC would be capable of treating all 1,500 patients per year.

These are the facts without the spin, hype, and speculation that have characterized recent attacks on a very noble and vital non-profit project that NIU has undertaken for the people of Illinois and in support of our residents ‘at their most vulnerable times.’ We know many already understand and embrace our mission of teaching, research, public service and economic development and our consistency in the pursuit of excellence. Our proton therapy cancer treatment and research center is no exception to this mission.”

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