WESTLAKE : Ceremony Planned to Open Cancer Center

Westlake Medical Center’s state-of-the-art, $10-million Comprehensive Cancer Center will open its doors Friday in a daylong ceremony that includes a free, community education program on advances in breast cancer.

The program will begin at 9 a.m. with a medical panel discussion of advances in radiation treatment, surgical options, chemotherapeutic treatments and reconstruction. From 11 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., guests will be served a complimentary lunch and hear lectures from psychological specialists on coping with cancer, family dynamics and sexuality and intimacy issues.

Later in the afternoon, beginning at 2 p.m., hospital officials will host the center’s grand opening and give a tour of the new facilities. Officials say the center, which will eventually claim 40% of the hospital’s space, will offer cancer patients one-stop care and provide personal service by top oncologists.

Dr. Robert Peter Gale, a pioneer in bone marrow transplants who gained international renown for his work with the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, will start a bone marrow treatment program at the center and serve, initially, as the center’s director. Gale will also speak at Friday’s opening.

For more information, or to make reservations to attend either the breast cancer forum, the grand opening, or both, call Renee Wagner at (818) 706-6725.