About Us
Our mission is to provide our patients and their families with the highest quality medical care available anywhere in the world by treating the whole person both during and after cancer treatment.
We believe maintaining our patient’s dignity is the cornerstone of rebuilding their health. The word ‘doctor’ comes from the Latin word for ‘teacher’ and we believe that is our first and most important role to teach our patients about their bodies, their disease and the various treatment options. We work with our patients to develop individualized treatment plans to fit their needs and desires. We respect those who choose to take the ‘less is more’ route for care, as well as those who choose to proceed with more aggressive treatment. When surgery is necessary, we strive to provide the least invasive procedure to shorten recovery times and minimize discomfort to our patients while still providing the most effective outcomes. When traditional treatments have failed, we believe in offering our patients the opportunity to participate in cutting edge clinical trials and collaborate with a robust network of physicians and institutions conducting clinical trials in addition to conducting our own innovative trials. We understand the problems that cancer can cause continue long after treatment is over and have programs to alleviate the long term social, mental, and physical problems caused by cancer and the treatment of cancer. Through diagnosis, treatment, and long after treatment is over we continue to work with our patients to maintain their dignity and maximize their health so they can live full, productive and happy lives.
To make surgery easier for our patients and their families and improve access to care we travel to most hospitals in the greater Bay Area, from as far south as the Salinas hospitals to as far north as Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley. We accept most insurances and are always accepting new patients. Dr. Lilja, Dr. Volpe and Dr. Velasco are Spanish speaking, Dr. Liu is fluent in Mandarin; and Christina Nguyen, PA-C is fluent in Vietnamese.
Meet the Staff
Our experienced team is here to help you navigate the sometimes complicated process that is between you and getting well.