For nearly 75 years, the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara (CFSB) has served as the backbone of oncology support in Santa Barbara.

In 1949, after receiving a cancer diagnosis and traveling to Los Angeles to receive treatment, Lillian Taylor Converse dreamed of establishing a cancer treatment facility in Santa Barbara. Her husband, Elisha Converse, turned that dream into reality with the financial support to purchase a one million volt linear accelerator for the Cancer Center, establishing the Cancer Foundation's intent to ensure state-of-the-art treatment in our community for generations to come. Since that initial gift, there has been tremendous change in the healthcare landscape and the way oncology treatments are offered — what used to primarily be inpatient care is now often available on an outpatient basis. Programs such as wellness classes, patient navigation, genetic counseling and nutrition are now integral to patients as they journey with, through and beyond cancer.