Dr. Matthew Poppe
By Matthew M. Poppe, MD, Clinical Director, Senator Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center
When Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah opened the Senator Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center in 2021, we knew there was a significant need for proton therapy access across the Mountain West. What we could not fully predict was the extent to which patients and families throughout the region had been waiting for the opportunity to receive this specialized treatment closer to home.
In the five years since opening, we have treated more than 600 patients undergoing proton therapy from Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Colorado. As the only proton therapy center in the Mountain West, we have had a unique opportunity to better understand both the promise of this technology and the challenges patients face when advanced cancer care is concentrated in a handful of locations across the country.
One of the most important lessons we have learned is that access matters as much as innovation.
Before our center opened, many patients in our region traveled hundreds of miles to receive proton therapy in Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, or other markets. For patients requiring daily treatments over several weeks, that often meant extended time away from work, family, school, and support systems. While proton therapy continues to evolve, our experience has reinforced that reducing geographic barriers can be just as transformative as advances in treatment itself.
This is evident among pediatric patients, who account for approximately one-third of those treated at our center. For many families, receiving proton therapy closer to home has reduced both the emotional and logistical challenges associated with cancer treatment while providing access to an option that can help minimize radiation exposure to healthy, developing tissue.
Today, our center treats approximately 13 to 19 patients each day. Utilization has expanded as referring physicians, patients, and multidisciplinary care teams have gained greater familiarity with proton therapy and its role within comprehensive cancer care. The success of the program and growing demand across the Mountain West ultimately led to a decision that many proton centers will recognize: It was time to expand capacity.
In May, Huntsman Cancer Institute broke ground on a $43 million expansion that will add a second proton therapy vault and approximately 9,000 square feet of additional space. Once complete, the project will double treatment capacity and create opportunities to serve more patients throughout the Mountain West. Construction is actively underway as we continue planning for the next chapter of proton therapy in our region.
The expansion reflects more than growth in patient volume. It also represents an investment in research, education, and clinical innovation.
As a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and academic health center, Huntsman Cancer Institute integrates patient care with scientific discovery. Expanding proton therapy capacity will create additional opportunities to study treatment outcomes, evaluate emerging use cases, and train future physicians, physicists, researchers, and care teams. The questions we answer today will help shape how proton therapy is delivered tomorrow.
For the proton therapy community, I believe there is a broader lesson here. As access to advanced technologies expands, success should not be measured solely by the equipment we build or the treatments we deliver. Success should also be measured by the patients who are able to receive care closer to home, the families who can remain connected to their support systems during treatment, and the communities that gain access to treatments that were once out of reach.
The expansion of our proton therapy center is not simply about adding another treatment room. It reflects a continued commitment to improving access, advancing innovation, and ensuring that patients throughout the Mountain West can benefit from world-class cancer care.
To learn more about the expansion project and the patients whose lives have been impacted by proton therapy, read the full story on the Huntsman Cancer Institute blog: More Hope, More Healing: Expanding Access to Proton Therapy.
