A clear chorus of silver bells echoed across the Lennar Foundation Cancer Center last month as more than 300 survivors marked National Cancer Survivor Month with a simultaneous ring. The morning began with a ceremonial key handoff. Construction partner Hensel Phelps presented City of Hope with the keys to Orange County’s first hospital devoted exclusively to cancer care.

The 190-bed specialty hospital, slated to open later this year, will connect directly to the center that began serving patients in 2022. Together with four regional clinics, the facility anchors a $1.5 billion campus designed to bring leading-edge treatments and clinical trials closer to home for local residents.

Each survivor walked a blue carpet lined with applauding physicians and nurses before lifting a bell like the one traditionally rung at the end of treatment. Among them was Orange County resident Ray Hartjen, who is being treated for multiple myeloma. “Ringing the bell and walking that carpet brought a rush of emotions,” he says. “The biggest was gratitude for being able to be there.”

City of Hope Orange County President Annette Walker called the day a promise kept: “It’s just a very emotional feeling … in our quest to fulfill the promise we made to this community that we would bring advanced care and cancer trials that can make all the difference in the world.”

“Ringing the bell and walking that carpet brought a rush of emotions. The biggest was gratitude for being able to be there.”

Ray Hartjen

Dr. Ed Kim, physician-in-chief at City of Hope Orange County, added that the organization is “redefining survivorship. For us, survivorship begins at the moment of diagnosis and continues throughout a person’s life, encompassing not just the patient, but also families and caregivers.”

Hartjen echoed that view, noting he now sees himself as “a survivor in the present tense, living beyond diagnosis and treatment to make the most of each day.”

Since expanding to Orange County, City of Hope has served more than 37,000 patients. The hospital handoff arrives as the nation’s survivor population tops 18 million, a figure projected to reach 22 million by 2030.

With the keys in hand, City of Hope now shifts from construction to activation. The milestone underscores Irvine’s standing as a community where hope and world-class medicine converge.