A deeper intelligence to defy cancer

UCI Health offers cancer treatments and clinical trials you won’t find anywhere else in Orange County

When UCI Health launched its “Anti-Cancer” campaign last fall, hundreds of people inscribed ping-pong balls with the names of loved ones who had the disease.

It became an exhibit inside the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, with a message loud and clear: Cancer touches the lives of too many people.

As leaders in the fight against cancer, we’re here to heal and support patients and their families. Working with researchers, our team of university-based surgeons, oncologists and other clinicians treats more cancer patients—and more complex cases—than any other healthcare provider in Orange County. Common or rare, all cancers are within our reach.

In fact, we’re one of only 45 comprehensive cancer centers nationwide—and the only one in Orange County—designated for excellence by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Based on our expertise and research capabilities, the NCI designation as a comprehensive cancer center gives our patients access to innovative treatments and clinical trials—sometimes years before they’re available to the general public.

By identifying the precise therapy and tailoring it to each person’s unique needs, we partner with our patients to tackle their cancer on all fronts. Our team of physicians and scientists is the largest in the region, working together to harness the latest research in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Now we are bringing leading-edge cancer treatments and care to south Orange County. The UCI Health Cancer Center—Newport provides a tranquil, healing setting for chemotherapy, doctors’ visits and other cancer services.

While UCI Health treats all cancers, we have several highly specialized programs:

Digestive cancers. With specialists in cancers of the esophagus, liver, pancreas, stomach, colon and more, UCI Health provides the most innovative diagnostic and treatment service for all malignancies of the digestive tract. UCI Health’s highly experienced team has developed many breakthrough procedures and treatments, most of them minimally invasive.

We are pioneers in the use of endoscopic fine-needle ultrasound procedures for gastrointestinal cancers. Our colon and rectal surgeons are experts in techniques that preserve patients’ quality of life, while our medical oncologists are leading clinical trials and other research to continually improve colon cancer care. And we are exploring new and better ways to detect abnormalities before they become cancerous.

Brain tumors. For previously inoperable brain tumors, we have the BrainPath® neurosurgery system, which allows doctors to reach deep-seated tumors through an incision less than the size of a dime. Further, we offer TrueBeam™ STx radiation therapy that is so fast, powerful and precise, even the tiniest, most inaccessible tumor can’t hide. Neurosurgeons team with our highly specialized neuro-oncologists who provide access to clinical trials and the latest treatments.

Lung cancer. This challenging cancer can be treated successfully if the malignancy is diagnosed early. UCI Health offers low-dose spiral computed tomography to detect early-stage lung cancer in high-risk people who may not even have symptoms yet. We’re also among the first to diagnose and treat small lung tumors with minimally invasive video-assisted thoracic surgery—the gold standard for early-stage lung cancer treatment. And our research in areas like lung cancer genetic mutations is ongoing, resulting in drugs that target cancer cells.

If you or a loved one has cancer, read more at anti-cancer.com or call 714-456-8000 for an appointment. When it comes to cancer, we’re in your corner.

— UCI Health Marketing & Communications
Featured in UCI Health Summer 2015