The new market president for City of Hope Cancer Center Arizona, Laurie Sicaeros, likes Marvel movies and Iron Man is her favorite character. Sharing superhero characteristics is part of what she brings to the medical field as she leads a team of Avengers at the Goodyear facility.
Sicaeros has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare leadership, strategic growth and building high-performing clinical organizations. She details below how she will make an impact on the City of Hope in efforts to expand cancer care access throughout Arizona, while spotlighting the organization’s treatments for life-threatening illnesses and more,
What is the market president’s role? As president of City of Hope Arizona, my role is to help ensure patients across Arizona have access to the highest level of cancer care possible. That means working closely with our physicians, researchers and staff to expand access to specialized cancer services, strengthen community and physician partnerships, invest in innovation and create the best possible experience for patients and families. Ultimately, my job is to help advance City of Hope’s mission and make sure we’re meeting the cancer care needs of Arizona communities today and into the future.
What will you bring to City of Hope Arizona? Throughout my career, I’ve focused on building strong teams, strengthening partnerships and helping healthcare organizations grow in ways that improve patient care. I’m naturally curious and believe leaders should spend time listening and learning from the people doing the work every day. What attracted me to City of Hope was its mission and singular focus on cancer. There is a sense of purpose here that is incredibly special. My goal is to help expand awareness of City of Hope throughout Arizona, accelerate access to innovative treatments and clinical trials and ensure every patient receives compassionate, world-class care close to home.
What should readers know about City of Hope Arizona? The most important thing to know is that cancer is all we do. City of Hope is one of the nation’s leading cancer research and treatment organizations, and we’re bringing that expertise to Arizona communities. Patients have access to over 2,000 nationally recognized physicians and scientists, advanced technologies, clinical trials and personalized treatment plans, all supported by a team focused entirely on cancer care. And because we are directly connected to Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), we have some of the world’s best minds here in Arizona dedicated to discoveries in diagnosis, therapeutics and cures. Arizona has more than 42,000 new cancer diagnoses each year, and we’re committed to making sure patients and families across the state have access to the latest innovations and expertise without having to travel far from home.
What does the future and present of cancer care look like in Arizona? Cancer care is becoming increasingly personalized. We’re moving away from one-size-fits-all approaches and toward treatments tailored to the individual patient, their disease and even their unique genetic profile. Arizona is uniquely positioned to lead in that future because of the partnership between City of Hope and TGen. Having world-class researchers and cancer specialists working side-by-side helps accelerate discoveries and bring promising treatments to patients faster. I believe the future of cancer care will be more precise, more accessible and more connected to scientific innovation than ever before.
What made you want to be in the business of cancer treatment environments? Healthcare has always been meaningful work, but cancer care is different because of the profound impact it has on patients and families. One experience that deeply resonated with me involved close family friends who turned to City of Hope during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. What struck me was the trust they had in the organization. When they needed help, there was never a question of where they would go. They knew they wanted City of Hope. That experience reinforced what I had already observed professionally: City of Hope combines extraordinary science, innovation and compassion in a way that is truly unique. When the opportunity to help lead City of Hope Arizona presented itself, it felt like a chance to be part of something very meaningful.
Are you an Arizona native? If not, where are you originally from? I am originally from Southern California and spent much of my career there before joining City of Hope Arizona. While I am relatively new to Arizona, I’ve quickly come to appreciate the state’s incredible growth, diverse communities and strong spirit of innovation. The opportunity to help expand access to world-class cancer care throughout Arizona is what excites me most about being here.
What does your family consist of? I am married to a high school algebra teacher and am the proud mother of a 24-year-old son. I’m also fortunate to still have my 89-year-old mother in my life, and I have a younger sister who is an accomplished documentary filmmaker. We’re a close-knit family, and spending time with them is always a priority.
Hobbies? Outside of work, I enjoy reading, especially biographies, watching movies, traveling and spending time with family and friends. I’m a big music fan and always enjoy discovering new artists and experiences. I also genuinely enjoy learning, which is probably why you’ll often find me spending time with physicians, caregivers and frontline teams to better understand their work, the impact they have on patients and how we can improve.
Delarita Ford can be reached at dford@iniusa.org. Submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
Meet Delarita Delarita Ford originally joined Independent Newspapers Incorporated, now Independent Newsmedia, Inc. USA in 1997, as a general assignment reporter for the Delaware State News daily paper after starting her journalism career in Maryland in 1994, where she honed her skills by writing obituaries, covering community news from births to deaths, education to legislation and more. As a reporter, she has had the opportunity to cover sitting and former U.S. presidential visits in Baltimore, Delaware, and Arizona.
Community: One of the few seasoned journalists who still enjoys covering community events, she can be found with a reporter’s pad taking notes, her phone taking pictures while capturing life’s moments to memorialize them in print for the local newspapers and for the active-adult community where she lives. She maintains a presence with the Black media and the National Association of Black Journalists to encourage peers, socialize, and mentor younger writers.
Education: Life learner who learns from life. Aside from the collegiate education received, she got the best training from on-the-job experience with former editors who went through copy with a red pen and demanded the best writing for hard news and feature stories.
Random Fact: While a Delaware State News reporter, she could call then Sen. Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, usually late at night if a quote or input was needed for varying topics, including legislation and education.
Hobbies: Adopt rescue dogs and give them a nice home. Continuously read and critique news stories from various platforms.
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