Just diagnosed-need help selecting treatment hospital in LA

Gely929

Hi - My mom is 62 years old was just diagnosed with stage II Invasive lobular carcinoma. Her tumor is about 8 cm long. I want to switch her from her regular Medical group to either UCLA, USC or City of Hope but we're having a very hard time deciding. Her insurance is accepted at all three hospitals so financially it doesn't make a difference. We live in the San Fernando Valley so even though City of Hope is a bit further for us, all three locations are relatively the same distance when you factor in traffic. Has anyone had any experience with these hospitals? Thank you!!

Gely929

Thank you Rose!

Lipglossmommie

I had my surgeries at UCLA Ronald Reagan Room service at any hour, you just call whenever your ready. I was treated like a queen. Highly recommend it.

I lived in Van Nuys and never took the 405, take Beverly Glenn it drops you right off there in Wilshire. Sometimes it only took me 15 minutes to get there. Hope this helps.

dlb823

Gely, I'm so sorry about your Mom's diagnosis. I'm a UCLA gal and can highly recommend everything about UCLA. In fact, I drive 3 hrs. from the Palm Springs area for tx there. Feel free to PM me if you'd like specific names of docs or have any other questions. I've exuded praise for all of my UCLA docs on many other threads.

If City of Hope is an easier (albeit slightly longer) drive for you, I've heard many wonderful things about them too. I chose UCLA in the first place (after calling both UCLA and City of Hope) because their multidisciplinary clinic greatly streamlined the process for me by giving me access to a full team of breast cancer experts on my first visit.

USC and Cedars are also both wonderful hospitals, but neither is known for their breast cancer program. The others, especially UCLA, have truly world-renown experts on staff.

Just my not-so-humble opinion! Deanna

SpecialK

One thing you might do is speak with each NCI designated location and inquire whether they have an ILC specialist there. Since ILC is a less commonly diagnosed type of breast cancer, it might be beneficial if you can locate an oncologist who treats more cases.