Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, Santa Barbara, California
The Ridley-Tree Cancer Center in Santa Barbara, California has a rich and fascinating history dating back to 1949, when Lillian Converse was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Intent on helping others with the disease in her hometown of Santa Barbara, she made her dying wish known to her husband, who donated the funds to allow her physician at the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara to purchase an innovative X-ray machine to treat cancer patients. The facility grew over the years and joined with the Sansum Clinic in 2012 to create the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara with Sansum Clinic. In 2017, philanthropist Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree provided the leading fit for a new facility, and the institution’s name was changed to honor her support. That gift allowed a new cancer center to be constructed to provide centralized outpatient cancer care.[1]
Today the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center offers patients with all types of cancer access to highly-trained physicians and compassionate, caring staff as well as advanced surgical, medical, and radiation oncology treatments and clinical trials.[1]
Pleural Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer Care, and Peritoneal Mesothelioma Care at the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center
Patients seeking care for pleural mesothelioma, lung cancer, or peritoneal mesothelioma at the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center will find themselves surrounded by and cared for by a collaborative multidisciplinary team of oncology experts including radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, and palliative care professionals. The facility offers those suffering from advanced cancers a single source for cancer treatment, diagnosis, and supportive care, including a full spectrum of medical, surgical, and radiation oncology, a patient-centered infusion suite, and access to groundbreaking clinical trials.[1]
The Radiation Oncology department boasts the latest technology to provide the most advanced treatment options for patients including stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiation therapy, stereotactic ablative radiotherapy, brachytherapy, and image-guided radiation therapy.[1]
Medical oncologists at Ridley-Tree have expertise in chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy, while surgeons have expertise in multidisciplinary and robotic surgery, as well as HIPEC, the innovative treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma.
Notable Staff and Mesothelioma Specialists
Ridley-Tree Cancer Center has several notable surgeons and cancer specialists whose expertise benefits patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. Their Department of Surgical Oncology is led by Dr. W. Charles Conway, who focused much of his initial surgical training and work on treating malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. Dr. Conway is renowned for his expertise in the use of cytoreductive surgery combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy to treat this rare form of cancer. He also works with a multidisciplinary team of cancer specialists at Ridley-Tree to provide care for patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer.
