Advocate Radiation Oncology brings its top-of-the-line technology to Collier County with the Jan. 3 launch of a cancer treatment center in Naples. The new center at 1775 Davis Blvd. will be Advocate’s fifth location in Southwest Florida. Advocate also operates locations in Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Port Charlotte.
Two world-class, board-certified radiation oncologists, Drs. Graciela Garton and Kevin R. Kozak, will treat patients at the Naples office seeking cutting-edge treatment for breast, prostate, lung, head, neck and other types of cancers. Advocate patients have access to industry-leading Varian technology, including the Halcyon, Identify and TrueBeam radiotherapy systems widely recognized as the most precise cancer-fighting machines on the market.
“Our mission to provide exceptional care to cancer patients is unrelenting,” said Dr. Arie Dosoretz, managing partner at Advocate Radiation Oncology. “Each and every patient deserves nothing less than the best treatment close to home. This new location is convenient for patients living in Naples and Marco Island, and it will offer the same unparalleled level of compassionate care and advanced technology that define Advocate.”
The interior space of the long-shuttered E.B.’s restaurant in Naples was gutted to create Advocate’s Naples office. A large skylight, the centerpiece of the office, was added to brighten up the 5,700-square-foot space where U.S. 41 East meets Davis Boulevard. The natural light offers therapeutic benefits, aiding the recovery process for patients, Dosoretz said, noting that the goal was to create a space that is inviting and inspirational.
To achieve Advocate Radiation Oncology’s mission to provide compassionate health care expertise to cancer patients, the medical practice is directed by a team of world-class, board-certified radiation oncologists.
Dr. Garton earned her medical degree at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, where she graduated with honors. Fluent in English, Spanish and French, Garton completed her residency at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine and was chief resident and an assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Dr. Kozak, who graduated magna cum laude with highest honors from Harvard University on a Navy ROTC scholarship, earned an M.D. and Ph.D. in biochemistry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He returned to Harvard to complete his radiation oncology training and postgraduate studies in tumor vascular biology. Kozak previously directed a cancer biology laboratory at the University of Wisconsin and served as Mercy Health System’s chief of radiation oncology and director of oncology services.
Shortly after the Naples office opens, Advocate plans another in Bradenton near Tampa Bay. More offices are planned in Collier and Lee, as well.
“We are looking at an additional Collier location. I still think there are additional opportunities in Lee, as well,” said Dosoretz, a third-generation radiation oncologist. His grandfather, the late Dr. Bernardo Dosoretz, was a pioneer in the field in Argentina, and his father, Dr. Daniel Dosoretz, was the founder and CEO of 21st Century for more than three decades before launching Advocate in 2019.
Advocate Radiation Oncology also soon will announce the location chosen for the first proton therapy center on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The 30,000-square-foot center will serve Southwest Florida in a centralized location between Lee and Collier counties. Advocate, in conjunction with affiliate Southwest Florida Proton, is aiming to launch the state-of-the-art center in late 2023 or early 2024, Dosoretz said.
“It’s a technology that literary nobody on the west coast has access to,” he said. “Patients seeking proton therapy must often travel across the state, or in some cases, across the country, to receive this type of treatment.”
Proton therapy has proven effective for the treatment of many common cancers with reduced toxicity and side effects in patients. The advanced form of radiation uses proton beams to target tumors and cancer cells more precisely.
