Yolanda Sanchez, director and chief executive of the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center, told the Tobacco Settlement Revenue Oversight Committee that a multi‑phase expansion will add advanced diagnostics, radiation oncology, theranostics and a cell‑based therapy lab that are not otherwise available in New Mexico.

Sanchez said the project began as an estimated $29 million build but has grown “to a little bit over $60,000,000” after increases in construction costs. She said the center has raised roughly $44,500,000 in state support, including bonds paid by cigarette tax revenue, and that an additional roughly $20,000,000 was awarded to the project shortly after her arrival.

The expansion, Sanchez told the committee, includes an MRI‑LINAC vault for image‑guided radiation therapy, shielded rooms for high‑energy theranostics, and shelled space for a cell‑based therapy and bone marrow transplant program. She described theranostics to the committee as a targeted approach that uses tumor‑binding molecules carrying radioactive isotopes to image and treat cancer.

Nut graf: The project will expand New Mexico’s capacity for high‑precision radiation, theranostics and cell therapies — services that currently force some patients to travel out of state — but the center warned legislative members that federal funding uncertainty and workforce losses could affect operations and research capacity.

Sanchez said the cancer center served 16,501 patients in fiscal year 2024, with nearly all patients coming from New Mexico, and reported $18,000,000 in uncompensated care in FY24. She told the committee the center employs 136 board‑certified oncologists and provides multidisciplinary care and access to clinical trials “irrespective of what’s in their wallet.”

The presentation included program and budget details: segment 2 of the expansion will house an MRI‑LINAC and theranostics vault; segment 3 — a shelled cell‑therapy laboratory — had a budgeted cost of $16,600,000 (listed as $15,000,000 from state appropriation plus $1.6 million match) but the center’s current estimate for that work rose to about $18,400,000. Sanchez also said renovation of the patient service area on the ground floor will require an additional estimate of roughly $4,000,000 to increase capacity for new services.

Committee members pressed Sanchez on risks tied to federal funding changes. Senator Martin Hickey asked whether the center is losing staff because of federal budget developments; Sanchez said the university has identified about $34,000,000 in lost funding over five years tied to federal changes, with the biggest hit to training grants that support graduate students, postdocs and other trainees. “The uncertainty is causing an impact in the oncologists that want to stay in academia,” she said, and the center is recruiting to replace staff who have left.

Representative Liz Thompson and other legislators highlighted the center’s outreach and workforce programs, including an Emerging Leaders Workshop and youth STEM outreach called Empowering Young Minds. Sanchez said the center is expanding inpatient clinical trials and bone marrow transplant capacity; she reported 13 allogeneic bone marrow transplants and four CAR‑T procedures in calendar year 2024, with plans to more than double that activity in 2025.

Ending: Sanchez asked members to remain engaged with UNM as the center seeks supplemental funding if needed; she noted that additional legislative bond requests — potentially funded by cigarette tax revenue — could return to the Legislature in the future to finish the expansion.