Medical Advances

Texas Center for Proton Therapy brings innovative cancer treatment to Dallas-Fort Worth

In the world of cancer treatment, innovation is always on the agenda. Although the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston has put Texas on the map for cancer treatment, Irving is joining the esteemed hospital's ranks by opening the Texas Center for Proton Therapy. Scheduled to start accepting patients in 2016, the $105 million center is breaking ground in Las Colinas on May 15 thanks to Texas Oncology.

Proton Therapy is a relatively new form of radiation treatment that uses a proton beam to damage the DNA of cancer cells. Gary Barlow, the center's director, has been working with this advanced treatment for about seven years in Florida and has more than 25 years of experience in radiation oncology.

Proton Therapy is a highly advanced form of radiation treatment that damages the DNA of cancer cells.

Barlow says that proton therapy is especially beneficial for children with cancer.

"Their bodies are still developing and growing and are very sensitive to radiation," Barlow says. "This highly targeted, precise therapy destroys cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding tissue."

Proton therapy is also used to treat cancer in sensitive areas where surgery is not always an option, such as the brain, neck, spine and eyes.

The 63,000-square-foot facility will have an onsite laboratory, three proton therapy treatment rooms, CT and MRI imaging technology, and a team of more than 50 healthcare professionals.

Dr. Scott Cheek is a radiation oncologist with Texas Oncology. Cheek says there is no one in Dallas-Fort Worth currently treating with proton therapy. In fact, there are only 11 proton treatment facilities in all of North America. The closest ones to Dallas are in Oklahoma City and Houston.

The Texas Center for Proton Therapy will provide the most advanced form of proton therapy: pencil beam scanning.

"By avoiding normal healthy tissue with radiation, you reduce the side effects and help patients maintain their quality of life both during and after the treatment," Cheek says.

The center will be able to treat up to 100 patients a day. With an average course of treatment from six to eight weeks, the location choice was important as well.

Barlow says Irving was a natural fit because of its proximity to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as well as DART and other amenities such as hotels and dining options.

"Combining advanced technology with genuine, personal support is a hallmark of Texas Oncology’s community-based approach to cancer treatment — and one of the reasons that brought me to Texas," Barlow says.

UT Southwestern Medical School also has plans to join the proton therapy ranks with a future facility near Children's Medical Center in Dallas.

Proton therapy, shown here at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, uses a steel gantry and powerful magnets.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Proton therapy, shown here at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, uses a steel gantry and powerful magnets.

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Cost-of-living news

Dallas has higher cost of living than any other city in Texas for 2025

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Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

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Dallas takes the top slot in an unenviable list: namely, the cost of living. According to a new cost-of-living index for 2025, Dallas comes in as the city with the highest cost of living in Texas.

The index, compiled by Numbeo, a Serbian online database, surveys 52 major cities on factors such as perceived crime rates, healthcare quality, and other statistics.

Among all 52 cities New York is No. 1, followed by San Francisco, Honolulu, Boston, and Washington DC. On that national list, Dallas comes in at No. 24.

Among other Texas cities, Austin ranks at No. 36, Houston is at No. 40, and San Antonio lands at No. 45.

Numbeo’s cost-of-living index takes into account the cost of items like groceries, restaurant meals, transportation, and utilities. The index excludes rent.

When rent is added to the cost-of-living index, Dallas is still No. 1 in Texas. The city grabs the 21st spot in North America, one notch above Austin. Houston ranks 35th, and San Antonio ranks 42nd.

Unbiased, a personal finance website, reported in November that the cost of living in Dallas is 3 percent higher than the national average and 12 percent higher than the Texas average. Data from Numbeo indicates that a single person in Dallas spends an estimated $1,192 a month without rent. For a family of four in Dallas, estimated monthly costs total $4,202 without rent.

“On average, you can expect to pay more for almost everything in Dallas than you would in many other cities and towns in Texas,” Unbiased notes. “However, your personal preferences and purchasing choices may allow for a slightly lower or higher cost of living than the average resident.”

Rent index
While Dallas holds the top Texas spot on Numbeo’s overall cost-of-living index, Austin faces the highest rent prices. Numbeo's rent index for Austin puts it in 12th place among major cities in North America and highest in Texas, above Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.

As Numbeo explains, the rent index estimates the cost of renting an apartment in a city compared with New York City. If the rent index is 50, for example, this suggests the average rent in that city is 50 percent below the average rent in New York City.

Elsewhere in Texas, the rent index is:

46.2 in Dallas
39.8 in Houston
34.6 in San Antonio

Restaurant index
In contrast to its showing on the rent and cost-of-living indexes, Houston outranks Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio on Numbeo’s restaurant index. This index compares the prices of meals and drinks at restaurants and bars to those in New York City.

Houston sits at No. 25 on the restaurant index. Dallas comes in at No. 32, Austin at No. 34, and San Antonio at No. 36.

The National Restaurant Association reported in December that menu prices in the U.S. had risen 3.6 percent in the past 12 months, outpacing gains in grocery prices and the federal government’s overall Consumer Price Index. Fortunately for diners, that was the smallest 12-month increase in menu prices since August 2020, according to the association.

Toast, which provides a cloud-based restaurant management system, says the higher menu prices reflect higher food prices.

“Food prices have been increasing due to inflation, labor expenses, fuel costs, and supply chain disruptions, all of which impact restaurant profitability, Toast says. “While raising menu prices is one option to combat rising food costs, some restaurants have introduced service charges and simplified menus to avoid passing all costs onto customers.”

cost living reports