Up, up and up, the 108-foot boom meticulously hoisted the 150,000-pound machine backlit by the sun-filled sky three stories, before gently lowering into the hole in the roof of Southwest Florida Proton on Nov. 26.

The placing of the gantry, the final piece of the puzzle that is the proton machine, was a celebration of sorts. A crane placed the 110,000-pound accelerator and 50,000-pound counterweight into position last week. Technicians will spend the next nine months fine-tuning and calibrating the delicate piece of machinery.

Dr. Todd Pezzi, a medical director at the facility, called the day surreal.

“It’s an exciting day,” he said.

Dr. Arie Doseretz started planning the project five years ago.

Southwest Florida Proton, at the northwest corner of Estero and Three Oaks parkways, will begin seeing patients using the more conventional photon treatment in mid-December. Lee Health, a partner for the approximate $80 million project, will have a diagnostic imaging center on-site.

The proton machine will be the only one on Florida’s West Coast.

Proton therapy is more advanced technology than the more common photon machine. It is more precise and limits damage to good tissue because it can target only the tumor. It also can be used for tumors near vital organs like the heart or brain. Proton therapy is the preferred therapy for children.

Belgium-based IBA built the machine. Ben Percival, the site manager overseeing the project, has been working with his team on-site for about two months and will stay until it’s finished in about a year. An additional team of about 15 people are working on the site temporarily.

Florida-based Beyel Brothers did the heavy lifting Nov. 26. The 150,000 pounds was nothing compared to the 1.3 million-pound turbines at Florida Power and Light and the 1.5 million-pound equipment for Space X, said Brian Edsall, a rigging foreman.

Beyel had to use two cranes just to install the 108-foot beam.