SAN DIEGO – A new comprehensive cancer care facility opened its doors today to serve patients from central and south San Diego County. Prebys Cancer Center, located on the campus of Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego, is part of Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center, a clinically integrated cancer care program that treats patients throughout San Diego County.

The $59 million Prebys Cancer Center is the second of two regional cancer hubs offered as part of the partnership between Scripps Health and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The other hub, located on the Torrey Pines Mesa, serves the northern region.

The new outpatient center will offer a wide range of advanced cancer treatments and patient support services. The 40,000-square-foot, four-story facility is named for the late Conrad Prebys, who earlier donated $25 million to support the facility and an endowed medical director position at Scripps MD Anderson.

"The opening of Prebys Cancer Center represents a pivotal step in our journey to provide advanced, individualized cancer care to the residents of San Diego County and the Southern California region," said Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder. "Patients will find this to be a truly exceptional facility in every sense, from the sophisticated medical technology and collaborative approach to care, to the comforting environment and personal supportive services we offer."

Prebys Cancer Center is now open for physician appointments for new and existing patients. Additional patient care services are expected to begin at the new facility in the coming weeks, including radiation therapy and immunotherapy, targeted therapy and chemotherapy infusion.

Advanced, individualized care

The new center is equipped with leading-edge radiation therapy technology, including two linear accelerators that can deliver external beam radiation treatments with exceptional accuracy. The technology allows doctors to shape the radiation beam so it tightly conforms to each tumor's unique contours, while its motion management system enables the beam to follow tumors that move as a patient breathes during treatment. Both of these features help to spare normal tissues around the tumor from the damaging effects of radiation.

In addition to offering highly targeted conventional radiation treatments, the linear accelerators can deliver high-dose ablative radiation therapy, an ultraprecise approach that in some cases can be an alternative to surgery. Ablative radiation treatments can be delivered to a wide variety of tumor sites, including the brain, lung, liver and bone.

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