No one wants to be sick. But when illness happens – especially a catastrophic illness like mesothelioma – it is vital to have access to a topnotch medical health facility with excellent medical professionals and the most up-to-date medical technology.
We are fortunate here in Northern California to have the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center (UCSF), one of the best medical facilities in the nation.
Set on a picturesque hilltop in San Francisco, with additional campuses in other parts of the city, UCSF is a teaching hospital. Like other teaching hospitals, UCSF is part of a university medical school that trains doctors, nurses, and other health professionals along with providing medical care to patients. It also has a commitment to research and innovation.
As someone whose life’s work is advocating for victims of asbestos-caused mesothelioma and their families, I hold a special admiration for UCSF Thoracic Oncology Program. Founded in 1995 by thoracic surgeon David M. Jablons, MD and thoracic oncologist Thierry Jahan, MD, UCSF Thoracic Oncology Program has been at the forefront of laboratory research, investigative clinical trials, and compassionate, expert care for patients with mesothelioma and other thoracic malignancies.
UCSF Thoracic Oncology’s Surgery Program is known for its “willingness to be aggressive” in the treatment of advanced lung cancer, according to its website. It states, “Our surgeons often take on high-risk cases, and have achieved notably favorable outcomes in patients turned down for surgery at other institutions.” Because their physicians are also researchers they can offer patients access to promising new drugs currently being evaluated by the scientific community.
With four full-time surgeons all trained in minimally invasive video-assisted thoracic surgery, patients experience less pain because of smaller incisions and faster recovery time when that approach can be used. This means that chemotherapy as a means for mesothelioma treatment can begin sooner.
The quality compassionate mesothelioma treatment that patients receive at UCSF is why I recommended the Thoracic Oncology Program as the recipient of a donation one of our clients, Gordon and Emily Bankhead, wanted to make from the settlement we won for them. Gordon Bankhead’s mesothelioma killed him in 2011. With the Bankheads’ gift to the UCSF Thoracic Oncology Program, they have funded important research that someday may prevent mesothelioma from killing others. If any place can find a cure, it’s UCSF.