Read Time: 6 minutes
Takeaways:
- The expansion of the Huntsman Cancer Institute Senator Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center will significantly increase access to proton therapy by doubling patient capacity.
- Proton therapy uses invisible, high-energy beams to treat cancer, allowing the dose to be delivered in a way that lowers the amount of radiation going to surrounding tissues. It is often used to treat tumors on or near sensitive structures, like the brain or spinal cord.
Impact: The expansion will strengthen access to lifesaving cancer treatment, reduce travel for patients and their families, and support ongoing research, education, and clinical innovation.
High on the hillside behind Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U), a teenage boy stood ready in a hard hat and construction vest. Fourteen-year-old Noah Reeb climbed into the cab of an excavator, preparing to help break ground on an expansion of the very center that helped save his life.
At age 9, Noah was diagnosed with a brain tumor and became one of the first patients treated when the Senator Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center at Huntsman Cancer Institute opened in 2021. Now cancer-free, he returned with a new role—helping to break ground on expanded access to care for patients and families across the Mountain West.
From the podium below on the hillside, Don Milligan, MBA, chief administrative officer of the Cancer Hospital at Huntsman Cancer Institute and University of Utah Health, looked up at Noah and asked if he was ready to break ground on the proton therapy expansion. In front of physicians, scientists, community leaders, and supporters gathered on the hillside, Noah answered without hesitation: “Let’s do it.”
With guidance from Jacobsen Construction team members, Noah operated the excavator and officially broke ground, helping extend lifesaving treatment to more patients closer to home.
For those gathered at the ceremony, the moment reflected both the center’s rapid growth and its impact on patients like Noah.
For the first time since Noah finished his treatment in 2021, Noah and his father, James Reeb, visited the Proton Therapy Center just before the groundbreaking ceremony. “I wasn’t prepared for the deluge of emotion that came over me as I walked into that room, hearing that familiar hum of the machinery and seeing clearly then what I had only glimpsed before, that this room is critical to the preservation of life,” says James Reeb. “No matter what has happened in my life since Noah rang the bell as a cancer-free patient, I feel like I have won the lottery every time I look at him. It makes my heart burst. Noah and our family are so lucky and so blessed.”
Noah Reeb says, “I always trusted my care team and felt calm and hopeful during every treatment. Looking back, I realize how big it is to have this kind of care here in Utah. It makes me feel really good knowing more kids will have that same opportunity.”
The groundbreaking ceremony marked the expansion that will double treatment capacity for patients like Noah and expand access to this highly specialized form of cancer care.
Bradley Cairns, PhD, CEO of Huntsman Cancer Institute, reflects on the importance of the center and its continued growth.
“Since opening in 2021, this Proton Therapy Center has already had a profound impact,” says Cairns. “It expands access, supports families during treatment, and strengthens our ability to improve care for future generations.”
Proton therapy uses invisible, high-energy beams that can be delivered with exceptional precision, allowing radiation to target tumors while reducing exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. It is often used to treat brain and spinal cord tumors, among other cancers.
“For many families, this has meant receiving world-class treatment close to home,” Cairns adds. “For clinicians and researchers, it has created opportunities to advance how proton therapy is delivered, studied, and improved.”
Proton therapy is frequently an ideal option for pediatric patients like Noah, who make up approximately one-third of the Proton Therapy Center’s patients. Care for pediatric patients is provided in coordination with Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital. Treatment often requires several weeks of daily visits, and having care available locally helps families avoid relocating for extended periods during an already stressful time.
Before the center opened, patients often had to travel long distances to receive this type of care at the nearest facilities in Phoenix, San Diego, or Seattle. Huntsman Cancer Institute serves a large geographic region, including Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Colorado, helping ensure improved access to advanced cancer care. The expansion will allow the center to treat more patients each day, further improving access across the Mountain West.
Proton therapy is one of several radiation treatment options available at Huntsman Cancer Institute. Patients work closely with their care teams to determine which approach is best for their individual diagnosis.
“Patients are not limited to a single approach here,” says Matthew Poppe, MD, FASTRO, clinical director of the Proton Therapy Center, physician-scientist at Huntsman Cancer Institute, and professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the U. “Our teams offer the full range of modern radiation therapies—from conventional approaches to highly specialized treatments like proton therapy—so we can match the right treatment to the right patient. That breadth ensures decisions are driven by what is best for the individual, not by technology alone.”
The expansion project will be built by Jacobsen Construction and includes a three-story concrete vault built into the hillside adjacent to the existing center. The structure will house the treatment unit along with supportive patient spaces. Specialized concrete walls, a thick ceiling, and tightly controlled temperature systems will ensure both radiation containment and precision during treatment.
The project is a team effort, bringing together experts not only in radiation oncology, but also in design and engineering to deliver this unique, high-tech resource to the community. The project was designed by VCBO with technical expertise by Stantec; and the proton therapy equipment will be furnished by Mevion.
Huntsman Cancer Institute invested $43 million in the expansion, which includes a 9,000-square-foot addition with a three-story treatment vault built into the hillside. Construction is expected to be completed in 2028, increasing the number of patients treated each day and expanding access across the region.
“What we are building into this hillside will save lives,” says Gary Ellis, president and CEO of Jacobsen Construction. “It will also further strengthen the standing of Huntsman Cancer Institute and the U as a beacon of hope for patients seeking world-class cancer treatment. Jacobsen is honored to be the building partner on this important expansion.”
Don Milligan, MBA, reflects on the partnerships that make the expansion possible, “It is because of collaboration—between Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah Health, Primary Children’s Hospital, our physicians and care teams, dedicated researchers, and our donors—that moments like this are possible.”
Sam Finlayson, MD, MPH, MBA, chief clinical officer of University of Utah Health, highlights the unified purpose behind the project. “At University of Utah Health and Huntsman Cancer Institute, discovery, treatment, and training are inseparable. Every advance in care informs research. Every research question improves how we treat patients. And every patient encounter helps train the next generation of physicians, scientists, physicists, and care teams.”
Huntsman Cancer Institute is grateful to the many individuals and organizations who made this expansion possible, including University of Utah Health, Primary Children’s Hospital—where we coordinate care for pediatric patients—and Huntsman Cancer Foundation, along with the clinicians, researchers, donors, and community members whose support advances in our mission.
“I felt deep gratitude as the beneficiary of hope and relief because of the scores of people who lent expertise, genius, resources, time, talent, energy, commitment and sacrifice to the creation of that facility,” James Reeb says.