City of Hope Orange County patients go up, up and away to celebrate cancer center opening
IRVINE — The words “Rise Above Cancer” were prominent on one side of the giant orange Great Park Balloon on Monday morning.
On the other side, it read “Hope” in big letters.
There were good vibes all around for City of Hope Orange County cancer survivors, as they took a special balloon ride at Orange County Great Park in the company of community leaders.
They not only rose above cancer, but above, well, everything, as the balloon took them through the overcast sky more than 300 feet into the air. The song “Rise Up” by Andra Day boomed through the speakers.
The special occasion was the launch of the City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center, which opened its doors to patients on Monday just 4 miles away.
“I drive by it every day when I go home,” said City of Hope Orange County President Annette Walker of the giant balloon. “I didn’t know I could ride in it. That was a great surprise to me.”
Even more surprising to Walker was that the Lennar Foundation Cancer Center actually met its opening date of Aug. 22. She said the date was set in July 2020, just before construction began.
“We made it with 48 hours to spare, which is like by the skin of your teeth, but I’ve never been involved in construction before,” she said. “We wanted to open on this date, and we made it, through a heavy lift from a very competent, engaged team both within the City of Hope and outside of the City of Hope. We got a lot of cooperation from the city, a lot of support.”
Monday’s balloon rides were co-presented by City of Hope and FivePoint, which sponsors the balloon. Walker said FivePoint extended an invitation in 2018 to be part of Great Park Neighborhoods.
FivePoint CEO Dan Hedigan quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson in his remarks to the crowd, which included Irvine Vice Mayor Anthony Kuo, San Clemente Mayor Gene James, Yorba Linda Mayor Carlos Rodríguez and La Palma Mayor Michele Steggell.
“A house is made of bricks and beams, a home is made of hopes and dreams,” Hedigan said. “The physical structures that are a part of our planning and development are byproducts of our true mission, which is to bring people together and to create spaces where you can pursue your dreams and live life to the fullest.”
The wave artwork on the side of the balloon is an enlarged reproduction of an oil painting by Coto de Caza resident Margaret Moody, who also provided some artwork on display in the center. A former longtime art teacher at Santa Margarita High, Moody said she taught Walker’s children in her class.
Moody said her mother died from lung cancer, and one of her two brothers also died from cancer. Her other brother is a cancer survivor.
“I just had tears in my eyes as they were going up in the balloon,” she said. “The whole thing of ‘Rise Above’ is so poignant, and together we do that. Art is a part of the healing process, so that’s why I’m so honored to be part of it.”
The Lennar Foundation Cancer Center, the county’s most advanced comprehensive cancer center, was easily visible from the top of the flight. The 11-acre site is one of 52 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country.
The cancer center, located at FivePoint Gateway, is adjacent to the site of a specialty cancer hospital slated for completion in 2025.
Westminster resident John Ryan, 59, said he’s excited about the development. Ryan was diagnosed with a rare form of Stage 4 lung cancer in 2019.
“There was no targeted treatment for this particular cancer, so the prognosis was really bad,” he said. “But City of Hope Huntington Beach was conducting a clinical trial for a drug specific to my mutation. I got on the clinical trial for a drug called Poziotinib, and so far it’s working. At the time of diagnosis, I couldn’t speak three words. After the treatment I’ve been going through, I can walk and I can talk, which is a big difference.”
Ryan said the new facility is a game-changer. City of Hope has opened four regional clinics in Orange County in the last couple of years — two in Newport Beach, one in Huntington Beach and one in Irvine. But before developing a presence in the county, the closest City of Hope location was dozens of miles away in Duarte.
“This is a comprehensive cancer center,” Ryan said of the Lennar facility that opened Monday. “They’ve got the most advanced treatment, and with things like lung cancer, any advancement is huge. The existing treatment will extend your life for a bit, but you’re going to need new drugs, and the clinical trials will give you those drugs that are better than the old drugs.”
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