City of Hope Huntington Beach provides chance for teen to give back

Charles Bertocchini is a breath of fresh air each Wednesday afternoon at the City of Hope’s Huntington Beach location.

The 17-year-old Coto de Caza resident does tasks like restocking the snacks in the infusion room, cleaning the chairs and changing the pillowcases. But it’s the conversations he holds with patients at the cancer treatment center that mean the most to him.

“That’s the best part,” Bertocchini said. “Usually, it’s about my experience, but sometimes it would be things in the news. Anything to get their mind off of what’s happening.”

Bertocchini is a member of the City of Hope’s volunteer program. An incoming senior at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, he plans to continue volunteering once school begins again, eventually shifting to the City of Hope’s Lennar Foundation Cancer Center in Irvine for even more hands-on experience.

Charles Bertocchini, 17, has been volunteering at City of Hope Huntington Beach for the last couple of months.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

It’s his way of giving back to the organization that has given his family, well, hope in recent years. There’s a good reason he’s doing this, and it’s the same one that has inspired him to want to pursue a career in medicine.

Bertocchini’s mother, Allie, is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in October 2019.

“My diagnosis came out of the blue, because I was so healthy in every other aspect of my life,” said Allie Bertocchini, who was 41 at the time. “My left nipple went flat, which was the only sign my body gave me that something was going on. I went and saw my primary care physician.”

Following a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound, she was told she had breast cancer. She soon made it to City of Hope under the care of Dr. Wade Smith, first going to the Duarte location before City of Hope Newport Beach opened in early 2020.

Charles, the oldest of three sons, was just 13 at the time. With his father, Tony, often away at work, he would often be the one responsible for administering medicine to his mother.

Charles Bertocchini stands inside City of Hope Huntington Beach.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Following a double mastectomy, an infection in January 2020 meant Allie ended up with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line. She was on slow-release antibiotics for six weeks, finishing up right when the coronavirus pandemic began.

“It was one thing after the next,” Allie Bertocchini said. “It was very hard on me, and it was hard on my kids, but it was also so inspiring to me how resilient they were and how they rose to the challenge of having to be more independent, helping me out, things like that.”

Challenges abounded, yet Charles stayed strong and in charge.

“It definitely brought us closer together,” he said. “When I wasn’t giving her medicine, we’d watch movies. After she got better she just told me, ‘I don’t really remember some of the stuff,’ but I don’t really care. I was just happy to be with her. I was 13, so I didn’t really understand where this could go, so I just wanted to spend every second I had with her.”

Allie Bertocchini’s breast cancer is in remission, though she remains on the anti-estrogen drug Tamoxifen and schedules semi-regular visits with her medical and surgical oncologists.

Charles Bertocchini pictured with his mother, Allie.

(Courtesy of City of Hope)

City of Hope Orange County opened its volunteer program in April, according to Judy Rose, director of Supportive Care and Integrative Medicine. Charles is one of about 30 volunteers so far in the county.

“We’ve heard nothing but great things about Charles from our Huntington Beach staff,” Rose said. “He’s doing an excellent job of being an extension of our staff, greeting patients and welcoming them in during such a challenging time. We’re so grateful to him for helping us. We hope that this story inspires others his age to look into ways to give back to their community, but also to gain experience in the career field they might be interested in.”

Charles Bertocchini is happy to give some normalcy to patients in a place where his family also regained its normalcy. Earlier this summer, he spent time in a medical immersion program at Wake Forest University.

“It’s a view into this world,” he said. “I think it’s only reinforced what I want to do.”

His mother is amazed at the blessing that has emerged.

“I could have never imagined in October 2019, when everything was so awful, that there would be good things that came out of it,” Allie Bertocchini said. “I think this is 100% a silver lining.”