VA West Los Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
The West Los Angeles VA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California provides primary and specialty care services to America’s military veterans. It is part of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, which is comprised of 11 different locations in the five-county Southern California area. It is considered one of the leading healthcare systems serving veterans in the VA Desert Pacific Network.[1]
In addition to providing high-level care to patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer, the VA West Los Angeles Medical Center has one of the largest research programs in the VA, including its cancer center research. It is also a teaching hospital that offers state-of-the-art technology for clinical care and professional training. It is affiliated with the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and the USC School of Medicine and serves the healthcare needs of more than 84,000 veterans.[1]
Pleural Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer Care at the West LA VA Medical Center
The West Los Angeles VA Medical Center is widely recognized as one of the top sites in the country at which America’s military veterans can be treated for thoracic conditions, and most notably for asbestos-related lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma resulting from asbestos exposure during their military service. It is widely known that America’s veterans represent approximately 30% of mesothelioma victims as a result of the widespread use of asbestos in military applications in the years leading up to and following World War II.
The West Los Angeles VA Medical Center treatment of patients with esophageal and lung conditions includes state-of-the-art surgery, as well as diagnosis and the administration of cancer therapies including radiation oncology, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and palliative care.[1]
Notable Staff and Mesothelioma Specialists
The VA West Los Angeles Medical Center’s thoracic cancer team is led by Dr. Robert Cameron, a thoracic surgeon who is known as one of the top five surgeons for malignant pleural mesothelioma in the country and one of the most renowned pleural mesothelioma specialists in the world.[3]
Dr. Cameron is both the Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the facility and Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Surgical Oncology at UCLA Health System. In addition to surgical skills in robotics and minimally invasive surgery, he has significant expertise in basic immunology research, medical computer systems, databases, and information systems. Dr. Cameron is noted for having developed a specific surgery known as pleurectomy with decortication, which spares the afflicted lug while removing the cancer.[3]
Dr. Cameron specializes in cardiothoracic and thoracic surgery, surgical oncology, general surgery, biology, and cellular biology, but his reputation was built on his work treating patients with the rare, asbestos-related disease that afflicts so many of America’s veterans.
Notably, veterans diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma can be referred to Dr. Cameron regardless of where they live in the country and be treated at West LA VA Medical Center. They can also come into the VA without a referral if they are in the area.[3]
