Author Dean Koontz and Gerda Koontz Give $9M to Hoag

Hoag grateful patient and author Dean Koontz and his wife, Gerda, long-time donors, have graciously committed $9 million to transform cancer care in Orange County. In recognition, Hoag is naming the Dean & Gerda Koontz Radiation Oncology Center in their honor.

Through the couple’s generosity, Hoag will be the only hospital in Orange County, and one of only two in California, to introduce the ViewRay MRIdian^©, the world’s first MRI-guided radiation therapy system. The MRIdian uses next generation technology to combine a diagnostic quality MRI scanner with a radiation linear accelerator. This allows for streaming real-time imaging of the radiation target and surrounding critical structures while a patient is being treated, a capability which has not been available to doctors previously.

This tremendous support of Hoag Family Cancer Institute will provide cancer patients with groundbreaking technology that will improve outcomes, allow doctors to target difficult-to-treat cancers and decrease the side effects associated with radiation cancer treatments.