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SALT LAKE CITY — Cheers rang out at Huntsman Cancer Institute this month as 14-year-old Noah Reeb officially broke ground on a project that will give more patients access to the same proton therapy that saved his own life just a few years ago.
Deftly operating an excavator with the help of the construction team, Noah ushered in the expansion of the Senator Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center, which will soon have a second treatment vault to serve twice as many patients.
“I always trusted my care team and felt calm and hopeful during every treatment,” he said. “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.”
When he was just nine years old, Noah was the first patient to receive proton therapy at the Huntsman Cancer Institute Senator Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center after it was completed by Jacobsen Construction in early 2021. Jacobsen is also the general contractor for the center’s expansion, which will be completed in October 2027.
“What we are building into this hillside will save lives,” said Gary Ellis, Jacobsen’s president and CEO. “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.”
Proton accelerators prevent long-term side effects better than any other cancer treatment. They do this by speeding
up particles and concentrating them into a narrowly targeted beam to avoid healthy cells located near the cancer. This is
especially valuable for patients with tumors in or near vital organs — and for children, whose growth and development
can be put at risk by cancer treatment radiation.
In the Intermountain West, there is currently more demand for proton therapy than the 14 patient treatments per day that the existing facility at Huntsman Cancer Institute is able to provide. Adding a second vault will make it possible to serve twice as many patients, so that nobody in Utah or bordering states needs to travel outside the region to get the proton therapy they need.
To learn more about this expansion, see the Huntsman Cancer Institute press release about the groundbreaking — or explore recent news coverage of the project by clicking the tiles below:
