Milestones | HCI Quick Facts | Jon M Huntsman | Our Mission of Hope | Survivor Stories

This September, Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) celebrates an anniversary. Ten years ago, following months of planning and construction, Jon M. Huntsman, his family, University and community leaders, and cancer patients came together to dedicate the original building.

The new building would stand as "a beacon of hope" to all those affected by cancer. It would also represent the unification of many different elements at the University of Utah that were engaged in solving the problem of cancer. Clinics and laboratories would be brought together under one roof with one mission: To understand cancer from its beginnings, to use this information to design new treatments, and to alleviate suffering from cancer.

Through the last 10 years, the mission has expanded and now includes highly developed research, clinical care, and education programs, fulfilling the vision and hope of HCI’s founders and principal benefactors, Jon M. and Karen Huntsman.

Incredible growth also has taken place. Today, the one building has grown to include Huntsman Cancer Hospital (HCH), dedicated in the summer of 2004. In October 2008, the critical need to further integrate our research and clinical care missions was addressed as we broke ground to expand HCH. The new facility will open in 2011 and will include broadened programs in wellness and survivorship, investigational therapeutics, and personalized medicine.

As the physical building grows, our focus remains on the patient. We continue to provide compassionate, state-of-the-art care in our hospital and clinics. We reach out to inform the community, including the underserved, and we conduct world-class research—all to improve cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment.

To those of you visiting this website because you are looking for hope for yourself or a loved one after a cancer diagnosis, please know that as we celebrate this anniversary, we are renewed and rededicated to your cause. Join us as we commemorate this Decade of Discovery.

My very best,
Mary Beckerle, PhD
Executive Director



Click on the early contruction images listed below for a larger view.