El Camino Hospital Media Releases

El Camino Hospital Cancer Center Expands Personalized Care and State-of-the-Art Treatment Services

New, Larger Cancer Center Opens in mid-March; Community Invited to Open House on March 7

Mountain View, CA - March 2, 2015 - El Camino Hospital today announced that its new, expanded Cancer Center will open in Oak Pavilion in mid-March. The $5.5 million expansion makes advanced cancer treatments and therapies available to more patients and is designed with patients and their families in mind.

"With this expansion, we can improve patient experience and comfort by providing more services and innovative treatments in one convenient place, along with easy access to services nearby at the hospital and radiation center," said Tomi Ryba, president and CEO of El Camino Hospital. "This expansion fills a community need and building on El Camino Hospital's rich history of coordinated care for our patients."

Features of the Cancer Center expansion include:

  • Expanded personalized treatment plans including before- and after-care and integrated services such as genetic counseling, survivorship program and nutrition counseling
  • Evening hours for patient and family convenience
  • Support services including art therapy, yoga classes and Laughter Yoga
  • Healing environment to help support mind and spirit
  • Hydration and nutrition stations for complimentary beverages and snacks
  • Expanded infusion center with more exam rooms for convenience and easier scheduling of treatments
  • More comfortable infusion bays with memory foam chairs and radiant heat panels
  • In-house lab and pharmacy, allowing faster turnaround for test results and access to infusion therapy
  • Expanded boutique and reserved parking

The Cancer Center will also feature a number of programs focused on cancer prevention, including on-site screenings, risk assessments and more.

"The Cancer Center expansion allows El Camino Hospital to expand top-quality clinical treatment and easy-to-access support services that are personalized for each patient," said Shyamali Singhal, MD, PhD, FACS, medical director of the El Camino Hospital Cancer Center. "With easier-to-navigate services, faster access to physician experts and treatment, we can enhance the patient experience and provide the quality care patients deserve."

A Community Open House - featuring tours, music from the El Camino Hospital's healing arts program, refreshments, a creative kids' space and other activities - is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 7. Oak Pavilion is located at 2505 Hospital Drive on El Camino Hospital's Mountain View campus.

The cancer program at El Camino Hospital was funded with a $10 million grant in 2005, and the hospital's first Cancer Center opened in Melchor Pavilion on the Mountain View campus that same year. Since that time, patient volume has strongly increased and the Cancer Center has been recognized for 5-year survival rates for breast, colon, prostate and lung cancers that demonstrate better survival results compared to national benchmarks, its services, and patient-centered approach. Recently, the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons issued a three-year Accreditation with Commendation to El Camino, the highest accreditation that can be achieved by a community hospital.