PHILADELPHIA - The family of Comcast Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian L. Roberts, whose wife, Aileen Roberts, completed radiation treatment for breast cancer 11 days ago, plans to announce a $15 million donation today to a new proton therapy center at the University of Pennsylvania, a newspaper reported. The $144 million Penn center would be one of six in the nation using proton therapy, in which a beam of tiny particles targets tumors more precisely and causes less damage to surrounding tissue, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in today's editions. The newspaper said the announcement would be made by Brian and Aileen Roberts, Brian's mother and father, Suzanne and Ralph Roberts, and university officials. The Roberts family wished to contribute to technology and Philadelphia. In addition to Aileen Roberts' case, the family had a lot of experience with cancer and firsthand knowledge of the need for better treatments. "I have a long list of people in my family who have cancer," Roberts said. Proton therapy is improving the treatment of tumors close to vital organs and in children, center organizers said. "We're always trying to find ways to increase the dose to the tumor and decrease the dose to the normal tissues," said Stephen Hahn, professor and chairman at the University of Pennsylvania Health System's department of radiation oncology. Ralph Roberts, 86, who founded Comcast, and three of his children, including Brian, are Penn graduates. Ralph Roberts and David L. Cohen, Comcast executive vice president, both serve on the board of Penn Medicine. Aileen Roberts and Steve B. Burke, Comcast president, are trustees of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, a partner with Penn in creating a pediatric-care area in the proton therapy center. The Roberts Proton Therapy Center is scheduled to open in 2009. The federal government, Penn Medicine and Children's Hospital also will provide funds for the center.

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