City of Hope grateful patients celebrate the first day of patient care at City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center .

2nd from right : Laguna Beach resident Donna McNutt .

City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center recently welcomed its first patients . To celebrate , City of Hope , together with FivePoint and the City of Irvine , commissioned Irvine ’ s iconic Great Park Balloon to soar above O . C . with the messages “ Rise Above Cancer ” and “ Hope .”

Grateful patients lifted off in the day ’ s first flight of the giant balloon .

The uplifting initiative is personal for Laguna Beach resident Donna McNutt , who is living with multiple myeloma , a rare blood cancer . McNutt received a lifesaving stem cell transplant at City of Hope and now has her cancer under control .

“ Cancer strikes so many families , and we want everyone to know that the most advanced cancer care is right here , in our community ,” says McNutt . “ City of Hope Orange County is here , close to home . Let ’ s rise above cancer together .”

JOIN THE CAUSE AND DECLARE # HOPEISHERE City of Hope and FivePoint are inviting community members to get screened and support everyone impacted by the disease . Community members are invited to take free rides on the balloon and post selfies using # HopeIsHere and tag @ CityofHopeOC .

The inspirational message will remain on the Great Park Balloon until the end of September .

CITY OF HOPE IS ORANGE COUNTY ’ S MOST ADVANCED CANCER CARE Patients at City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center receive fully integrated , multidisciplinary care — from prevention through survivorship — in one convenient location where every physician and staff member is solely focused on treating and curing cancer . They have access to City of Hope ’ s 575 physicians and more than 1,000 researchers and scientists who only focus on cancer , and nearly 1,000 Phase 1-3 clinical trials conducted at City of Hope each year .

For more information , visit CityofHope . org / OC .

TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AT ANY OF OUR FIVE ORANGE COUNTY LOCATIONS , CALL 888-333-HOPE ( 4673 )