Patient Stories

Patient Stories

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Cancer

One Woman’s Positivity Finds a Home in Hoag’s Comprehensive, Compassionate and Innovative Care

We have a choice about how to react to the heartaches of life. We can wallow in the dark places. Or we can, as Christine Lucas has, place the hummingbird feeder in the sunniest part of the garden, find a comfortable chair and enjoy the gift of being human. After losing two partners to cancer, … Read More

Women's Health

Finding Strength and Resilience: Jennifer’s Journey Through Breast Cancer at Hoag

Fall 2023, Jennifer Drinkwater scheduled an appointment with the Hoag Breast Center to get a second opinion on her small, non-invasive breast cancer diagnosis. Upon further screening, board certified fellowship-trained breast surgeon Dr. Elizabeth Kraft, discovered Jennifer had been misdiagnosed. Jennifer was diagnosed with HER2-positive invasive breast cancer, which had spread to her lymph node. … Read More

Spine

Quality of Life Is a Running Theme for Hoag Spine Patient

Steven Katz has spent nearly every morning of the last 35 years running on the beach near his home in Oahu. For the 74-year-old, eight-time marathon competitor, running on the beach is more than a hobby. Running is Katz’s form of meditation, his “therapy.” But for the better part of a year, pain had robbed … Read More

Digestive Health

Crohn’s Patient – and New Mom – Puts Her Trust in Hoag

Teddi Lamons' inspiring journey to motherhood amidst her battle with severe ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease highlights the exceptional, patient-centered care at Hoag’s Digestive Health Institute. Guided by Dr. Hwang and Dr. Raskin, Teddi navigated her complex health challenges to safely welcome her daughter, Florence 'Flossie' Lamons, into the world. This heartfelt story underscores the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in managing high-risk pregnancies and chronic conditions.

Featured Story

Idaho Brain Tumor Patient Finds Home She Needed at Hoag

Pictured: Paul and Tricia Dietzler take a selfie together the morning before her second surgery at Hoag. What was an Idaho woman with a brain tumor doing driving almost 1,000 miles across two state lines to get to Orange County, California? Tricia Dietzler was in too much pain to contemplate that question as her husband, … Read More

First-Time Mom is Thankful for the Support She Received from the Hoag at Home Postpartum+ Program

As a first-time mom, Melissa had questions and worries about postpartum. Starting with the prenatal consultation in her third trimester through postpartum, those were put at ease knowing how involved the personalized care would be that she received from Erica Golden, the Hoag at Home Postpartum+ family nurse practitioner. During Melissa’s pregnancy, Erica was accessible … Read More

Featured Story

For Stroke Patient, Day at the Beach Becomes Most Important Day of Her Life

Pictured: Lisa (far right) with her two friends, Jaclyn and Julie, who helped save her life with their quick action. It was July 10, 2023, and already blazing hot in Rancho Cucamonga when Lisa Peterson and her daughter, Haylee, left their home for Newport Beach to enjoy some respite in the waves with friends. They … Read More

Women's Health

The Road to Parenthood: Grateful Patient Grows With Hoag

As a young sixteen-year-old starting her health journey, Kailyn Hutchinson first crossed paths with Hoag OB/GYN, Lisa Karamardian, M.D., Jeffrey M. Carlton Endowed Chair in Women’s Health, in honor of Dr. Anne M. Kent and medical director of Maternal Child Health at Hoag Hospital. Little did Kailyn know that this initial meeting would mark the … Read More

Heart & Vascular

Hoag Gives Cardiac Patient a ‘Second Chance at Life’

Abi Basu and his wife traveled to India to perform a religious ritual honoring their deceased parents, but it was his own mortality that faced a terrifying threat. Multiple times on the journey, Abi lost his breath for several minutes. At night he awoke, gasping for air. He blacked out on a train platform. He … Read More

Hoag at Home

New Mom Attributes Hoag at Home Postpartum+ Program to a Better Postpartum Experience

Carly was first introduced to the Hoag at Home Postpartum+ program during a routine check-up with her doctor, Dr. Marina Maslovaric. As a new mom, the comfort the program would provide her with was invaluable. During the first few weeks postpartum, Carly had a lot of questions that she was able to ask Erica Golden, … Read More