HOAG CANCER CENTER SURVIVAL RATES

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Survival Rates at Hoag Cancer Center Ten Percent Higher Than National Averages

Newly Released Numbers From the National Cancer Institute Have

Hoag's Rates at an All-Time High

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., July 11 -- Five-year relative survival

rates at Hoag Cancer Center have reached all-time highs and continue to

significantly outpace national averages.

In the latest data for all patients diagnosed with invasive cancer between

1992 and 1998, Hoag's five-year relative survival rates*(adjusted for other

age-related non-cancer causes of death) climbed to 72 percent -- ten full

percentage points better than the national average of 62 percent.

Hoag's rates have also improved markedly in recent years. Hoag's newly

released five-year survival rate of 72 percent is seven points higher than the

center's rates during the previous seven-year period.

"In terms of our mission of impacting cancer survival, there isn't a

better indicator of our success than survival rates," says Hoag Cancer Center

Medical Director O. Dillman, M.D. "Survival rates take into account

all aspects of cancer management: early detection and high quality surgical

treatment, radiation therapy, systemic chemotherapy and/or biotherapy and

strong supportive general medical care."

Another testament to the strength of Hoag's survival rates is the fact

that the cancer center also surpasses national averages for each of the five

major cancers. Hoag's five-year survival rate for colon cancer patients is

72% (compared to 62% nationally); rectal cancer is 81% (compared to 63%);

prostate cancer is 100% (compared to 97%); breast cancer is 94% (compared to

86%); and lung cancer is 23% (compared to 15%).

"These survival rates really are a benchmark for the comprehensiveness of

our medical care," explains Dr. Dillman. "They speak to the overall quality

of the entire medical system at Hoag."

Designated by the American College of Surgeons as a "comprehensive

community cancer program," Hoag Cancer Center is the largest cancer program in

Southern California, outside of Los Angeles county. As Orange County's number

one provider of radiation therapy and cancer care, the center manages more

than 2,300 new patients annually.

About Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian is a 409-bed

not-for-profit acute care hospital located in Newport Beach, Calif. Fully

accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare

Organizations (JCAHO), Hoag is home to Centers of Excellence in cancer, heart

and vascular, orthopedics and women's health services. Orange County

residents have named Hoag the "hospital of choice" for seven years in a row,

based on a National Research Corporation poll, as well as the county's top

hospital for eight consecutive years in a local newspaper survey. Hoag was

Southern California's highest-rated, full-service acute care hospital in the

2001 Patients' Evaluation of Performance in California (PEP-C), the state's

largest hospital survey ever released to the public, and is one of only three

large community hospitals in the Pacific region to receive the Health Care

Information Association's (HCIA) 100 Top Hospitals: Regional Benchmark for

Success Award, recognizing patient care and satisfaction.

* As reported by the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance,

Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program.

SOURCE Hoag Memorial Hospital PresbyterianWeb Site: http://www.hoaghospital.org