City of Hope’s cancer specialty hospital opens doors to first patients in Irvine

When Costa Mesa-based philanthropist Frank Di Bella, 80, was diagnosed with metastatic bladder cancer in 2011, he was given a prognosis from a local hospital of just two to three months to live.

Di Bella turned to City of Hope in Duarte for a second opinion.

Over a decade later, Di Bella credits City of Hope with life-saving treatment. And on Monday morning, Di Bella became the first patient to receive care at City of Hope’s new cancer specialty hospital in Irvine.

Di Bella was seen in the hospital’s evaluation and treatment center, which is now open to patients for around-the-clock care.

Hundreds of City of Hope’s employees, equipped with enthusiastic cheers and pompoms, gathered Monday morning to welcome Di Bella in and celebrate the hospital’s opening just three years after the not