Cancer

Early Warning Signs of Oral Cancer: What You Need to Know

Take a minute to look inside your mouth. The lips, gums, tongue, cheeks, and the roof and floor of your mouth make up your oral cavity. Oral cancer begins when cells in any of these areas mutate and accumulate, forming a tumor. If left undetected, the cancer can grow and even spread to nearby lymph … Read More
Published On: April 28, 2025

Hoag Recruits Transformative Leader, Steven Grossman, M.D. Ph.D., to Lead the Hoag Family Cancer Institute

Internationally recognized and respected physician scientist, Dr. Grossman named Executive Medical Director After competitive, nationwide recruitment, Dr. Grossman joins Hoag from USC Grossman’s recruitment is emblematic of a significant period of growth and advancement for Hoag, particularly in cancer research, treatment and prevention NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (April 21, 2025) – Hoag is proud to announce … Read More
Published On: April 21, 2025
Tags: Cancer

When a Hoag ER Nurse Became a Patient: How a cancer diagnosis saved her life and her family

When Amy Rudder first noticed a lump in her right breast, she wasn’t concerned. At just 27, the Hoag ER nurse thought she was too young to have breast cancer. Her perspective shifted dramatically, however, after she met with Hoag OB-GYN Brooke Hargrove, M.D., who ordered an ultrasound.   “I made the mistake of looking over … Read More
Published On: April 15, 2025

Diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer, patient finds path to healing at Hoag 

In the summer of 2024, Janice Munemitsu, an Orange County native, found herself among a growing number of Asian women with a rare form of lung cancer.   “As someone who doesn’t smoke and has been healthy all my life, it was a shock,” she said.   What began as a sudden onset of a rare eye … Read More
Published On: April 15, 2025

Hoag Genitourinary Oncologist Uncovers Dangerous Care Gap in Newly Published Study

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (March 28, 2025) – Genitourinary (GU) cancers are on the rise, but there are not enough specialists in the United States to treat these potentially fatal diseases, according to the first-ever study of the situation published this month in the journal Urology. Incidents of GU cancers – cancers of the prostate, bladder, … Read More
Published On: March 28, 2025
Tags: Cancer

From Diagnosis to Cancer-Free in 14 days: How Hoag’s highly specialized interventional digestive care experts treated aggressive esophageal cancer and won

Rick Letterman’s passion for golf spans decades. Now 77, he’s been perfecting his swing since high school, when he worked as a caddy at a local country club in Kentucky.  “Golf is a very self-challenging game,” he said. “You align with your target in the distance, and you take your shot. When I received the … Read More
Published On: February 12, 2025

How a unique endoscopic procedure at Hoag gave one patient her life back after a decades-long battle

For 17 years, Roz Hodgins struggled with what many of us take for granted; the ability to comfortably swallow food. “I always had to be very cognizant of what I was eating and where, and there were foods I loved that I just couldn’t eat,” she said. “Going to a restaurant was difficult because I’d … Read More
Published On: February 12, 2025

Navigating the cancer gene at Hoag: One family’s story

Since the discovery of genetic mutations BRCA1 and BRCA2 in the 1990s, testing for the genes has become a common course of action among patients and families with a history of certain cancers.   According to the National Cancer Institute, the lifetime risk of breast cancer for a woman with a BRCA mutation is as high … Read More
Published On: January 14, 2025

Hoag Helps Young Father Beat Cancer and Gives Life a New Direction

Hoag helped save Jason Semko’s life, then gave it new direction. A former film student, Jason moved to Los Angeles from El Paso, Texas in 2007 to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. He realized he needed more stability to fulfill his dream of starting a family, taught himself how to code and reinvented … Read More
Published On: December 10, 2024

Hoag patient receives newly FDA-approved cancer treatment

Shahin Shelechi, 72, is incredibly optimistic–so much so that it’s difficult to comprehend the magnitude of what she has endured throughout her 30-year cancer journey. “You have to have hope,” she said. “And whatever I can do to help even one person, I will do it.” First diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994, the disease … Read More
Published On: November 13, 2024