“Life is not a game of solitaire; people depend on one another. When one does well, the others are lifted. When one stumbles, others also are impacted. There are no one-man teams—either by definition or natural law. Success is a cooperative effort; it’s dependent upon those who stand beside you.”

From the book Winners Never Cheat
Jon M. Huntsman

Cancer touches everyone. Each minute, someone in the United States succumbs to this devastating disease. At Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah, our clinicians passionately provide the best individualized care for patients. At the same time, our research teams work tirelessly to develop better strategies to defeat cancer. Our efforts to decipher the genetic and molecular pathways compromised in tumors have led to new understanding of how cancer develops. Our goal is to use that information to identify individuals at high risk for developing cancer, to detect tumors as early as possible, to diagnose cancers more precisely, and to discover new strategies to treat and, when possible, prevent the disease.

Three principles guide us in our work at HCI: the patient comes first, work is a unified effort, and excellence is expected in all we do. This year’s annual report highlights our second principle: the value of teamwork. At HCI, our multidisciplinary teams of specialists develop comprehensive, integrated treatment plans for our cancer patients. Our clinicians, laboratory researchers, and population scientists work together to tackle the challenges that cancer presents. Establishing teams of individuals with diverse expertise and perspectives promotes synergy and enhances innovation.

All of us at HCI—our scientists, our doctors and nurses, our housekeeping crew, our software developers, our trainees, and our research and administrative staff—are united by a common goal. We hope to reduce cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality, and make a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their loved ones. By working together, we will succeed.