The Heart of Cancer Care
Nov 12, 2026
Read Time: 4 Minutes
Julia Beynon presented with her 2026 Healthcare Heroes award by Catherine Bennett and Eric Teel of Utah Business
Takeaways: Huntsman Cancer Institute's 1,136 nurses and support staff provide care across 20 specialties, helping deliver personalized, coordinated care for every patient.
Our cancer nurses drive innovation through quality and process improvement while helping bring scientific discoveries to patients through more than 400 available clinical trials and innovative treatments.
Julia Beynon was recognized as a 2026 Utah Business Healthcare Hero for her contributions to nursing leadership and cancer care and for leading our talented team of nurses. Impact: The human connection nurses provide remains an essential part of the cancer treatment for patients and families.
Research drives discovery. Physicians guide treatment. But for many patients facing cancer, nurses are the people who walk beside them every step of the way. At Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U), they administer complex treatments, recognize subtle changes in a patient’s condition, coordinate care across specialties, and help families navigate some of the hardest days of their lives. Huntsman Cancer Institute’s 1,136 nurses and support staff serve in hematology, radiation oncology, bone marrow transplant, and 17 other specialties, pairing advanced oncology expertise and innovation with the human connection patients need.
They are there when others are not. Long after clinics close and research labs quiet for the evening, nurses remain at the bedside, caring for patients and guiding families through some of the most challenging moments of their lives. Day and night, they provide clinical expertise, compassionate care, advocacy, and reassurance.
“Julia leads with authenticity, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to others”
Leading with Compassion
Julia with her Huntsman Cancer Institute nursing Team
Few people exemplify the impact of nursing more than Julia Beynon, MHI, RN, senior nursing administrator at Huntsman Cancer Institute. In recognition of her leadership and contributions to patient care, Beynon was named a 2026 Utah Business Healthcare Hero, an award honoring health care professionals whose expertise and service strengthen care across Utah. Throughout nearly four decades in nursing, Beynon has helped shape the care experience for countless patients and families while advancing excellence across Huntsman Cancer Institute. Today, she provides executive oversight for Huntsman Cancer Institute's inpatient and ambulatory nursing services, guiding teams dedicated to delivering high-quality, compassionate care. From her early years as a critical care nurse to executive leadership roles, Beynon has helped establish intensive and intermediate care units, expand outpatient clinics and infusion services, and champion initiatives that strengthen both patient care and nursing practice. Her influence extends far beyond operations, helping cultivate future nursing leaders and fostering a culture centered on patients and caregivers alike. “Julia leads with authenticity, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to others,” says Sachin Apte, MD, MS, MBA, chief operating officer of Huntsman Cancer Institute Clinical Campuses, chief medical officer of the Cancer Care Line at University of Utah Health, chief clinical officer of Huntsman Cancer Institute, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the U. “Her impact is felt not only in the lives of those she serves, but in the countless nurses she has helped become leaders themselves.” The nurses Beynon has mentored often speak less about her accomplishments and more about how she makes people feel. “Julia’s first priority is always the patients and the frontline staff who care for them,” says McKell Gubler, MHA, MSN, RN, outpatient nursing director at Huntsman Cancer Institute. “She is a steadfast advocate for the well-being of both patients and caregivers."
Bringing Innovation to the Bedside
Nursing administration during employee appreciation
At Huntsman Cancer Institute, nursing extends beyond bedside care. Nurses are innovators in their own right, leading quality improvement and process improvement projects that strengthen patient care, improve workflows, and find better ways to deliver care. They also play an essential role in bringing scientific discoveries to patients, helping translate promising new treatments from the research setting to the people who may benefit from them. Nurses are essential partners in discovery, helping bring promising new treatments from the research setting to the patients who may benefit from them. With more than 400 clinical trials available at Huntsman Cancer Institute, nurses play a vital role in connecting patients with innovative therapies and ensuring those treatments are delivered safely. From guiding patients through clinical trials to monitoring complex therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, a type of treatment that uses a patient's own genetically modified immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells, nurses help bring new discoveries to the people who need them most. This highly specialized work requires advanced oncology expertise, ongoing training, and a commitment to lifelong learning as cancer care continues to evolve.
Julia Beynon and Jen Jones during employee appreciation week
Patient Impact
Tamica and her father at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Ultimately, no one feels the impact of nursing more than patients. For Tamica Taddicken, who came to Huntsman Cancer Institute after being diagnosed with stage 4 adrenocortical carcinoma at age 21, nurses became some of the most important people during every stage of her care. Diagnosed in September 2019, Tamica was facing an exceptionally rare cancer that affects the adrenal glands and occurs in only about one in one million people each year in the United States. Over the past seven years, she has undergone complex surgeries, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. Throughout her treatment, Tamica built close relationships with the nurses who cared for her across inpatient stays, infusion appointments, and follow-up visits. Their expertise helped her navigate complex treatments and manage unexpected complications, but what she remembers most is how they showed up for her as a person. “Everybody was working together,” says Tamica. “Every single person on my team has made an incredible impact on me. I know they're in my corner.” She describes nurses as "the backbone and front-line soldiers" of her care, explaining that they listened, advocated for her, and cared for her in ways that helped her feel seen as a person, not just a patient. Sometimes, her nurses administered her care in simple but meaningful way. Tamica still remembers Gia, a nurse who cared for her during an ICU stay and drew hearts on the tape and bandages around her IV after surgery. She also remembers a nurse taking time to play guitar and sing when Tamica first bought a ukulele, encouraging her to be creative amidst the chaos. For Tamica, those moments capture what made her nurses extraordinary. They delivered complex treatments and helped her navigate experimental therapies, but they also brought comfort, creativity, and humanity into some of the hardest days of her life. Those gestures reminded her that she was more than a diagnosis. As Tamica says, her nurses "took the time to tend to the soul while also taking care of my health."
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