June 3, 2022 - Narratives Special Issue (View All Issues)
ASCO’s President-Elect Makes Partnering With Patients the Cornerstone of His Presidential Term
This year, Eric P. Winer, MD, FASCO, takes on two new leadership roles in his illustrious medical career. In February, Dr. Winer left his positions as Chief Clinical Development Officer and Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Leader of the...
After Rounds on the Leukemia Ward, a Young Doctor Finds His Calling in Stem Cell Transplantation
Internationally recognized stem cell transplant pioneer Richard E. Champlin, MD, was born in Milwaukee and moved to Homewood, a suburb on the southern lip of Chicago, with his parents when he was 3 years old. Following high school, Dr. Champlin entered Purdue University in Indiana to pursue a...
A Personal Cancer Journey Shifts a Career in the Arts to a Career in Radiation Oncology
It is safe to assume that most oncologists take a fairly straight career path, beginning with the decision to become a doctor. Along the educational journey from medical school to fellowship, an event or mentor usually incites the passion to pursue the challenging field of oncology. Although Fumiko ...
ASCO Honors 2022 Special Awards Recipients
ASCO and Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, will recognize researchers, patient advocates, philanthropists, teachers, and global oncology leaders who have reshaped cancer care around the world with the Society’s highest honors at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.
“This year’s Special...
A Son Forges a Noted Career in Oncology Rather Than Follow in His Father’s Illustrious Footsteps in Dermatology
Rakesh Chopra, MD, former Chairman and Head of the Oncology Department of Artemis Hospitals, was born in New Delhi, the capital of modern India. As a child, he attended the Lawrence School, Sanawar, a private boarding school in Himachal Pradesh, among beautiful sylvan surroundings.
“Sanawar was...
A Leader in Oncology Balances Philosophy, Medicine, and Humility
"The reality is that closure is a myth. My personal and professional experience with those who have lost friends and family, including children, has taught me that going on with life is not the same as gaining closure. The wound of loss is a part of each person’s life forever,” wrote...
AUA, ASTRO Release New Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer Guideline
Recently, the American Urological Association (AUA), in partnership with the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), released the 2022 clinical practice guideline for the management of clinically localized prostate cancer. The guideline has been endorsed by the Society of Urologic Oncology ...
From the Segregated Tennis Courts of Washington, DC, to a Leadership Role in Surgical Oncology
Success in tennis demands precision timing, extraordinary hand-eye dexterity, and commanding mental and physical vigor. According to Harold P. Freeman, MD, the discipline and skills he learned on the tennis courts at an early age stood him in good stead during his remarkable life’s journey.
“My...
Missed Opportunities in Geriatric Oncology Research
The underrepresentation of older patients (≥ 65 years) in clinical trials has been well documented for more than 20 years. This has been an issue at all phases of drug development, including pivotal trials for drug approvals,1 despite the fact that many of these new therapeutics will primarily be...
A Descendant of Midwest Pioneers Follows a Path to Academic Genitourinary Oncology
Prior to the birth of the steel industry, Luxembourg was a poor and rural country. At the start of the 19th century, many Luxembourgers searching opportunity emigrated to the United States. The hardiest among them ventured into the Great Plains region to take advantage of homesteading...
A Fascination With Bats Leads to a Career in Oncology and a Role in Championing Equity in the Workforce
According to internationally regarded neuroendocrine tumor specialist, Pamela Kunz, MD, her career path was kickstarted by childhood bat-hunting expeditions in barns and caves throughout rural New England. “My father was an environmental biologist at Boston University who studied bats. Although at...
Navigating Difficult Waters: A Cancer Journey
In the summer of 2017, while visiting Normandy, 64-year-old Mark’s right testis became enlarged and tender. His initial workup identified a large testicular Leydig cell tumor with adverse pathologic features; computed tomography showed no evidence of metastasis.1,2 His medical history was otherwise ...
Sunil Verma, MD, Navigates an International Path From Clinical Educator in Oncology to Leadership in Industry
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor, Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with Sunil Verma, MD, the Global Head of Oncology, Medical, at AstraZeneca.
Sunil Verma, MD, was born in Zambia, a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern, and East Africa. “My ...
ASCO Expands Oncology Summer Internship Program With Aims to Increase Workforce Diversity
ASCO recently announced six additional medical schools will participate in the second year of the Oncology Summer Internship (OSI) program, an immersive, 4-week summer internship for rising second-year medical students from groups underrepresented in medicine (UIM).1 In 2022, ASCO and a total of 11 ...
Mount Sinai and Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation to Collaborate on Aging-Related Cancer
The Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI) at Mount Sinai and the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF) are launching a unique research program that will fund collaborations between TCI physician-scientists and colleagues from other established cancer research institutions to address the worldwide ...
A Nationally Regarded Pediatric Oncologist Found His Passion Early
ASCO Past President, Michael Link, MD, who has pioneered new strategies for treating common childhood cancers, was born and reared in a suburb of Cleveland. “My first significant exposure to medicine was my own family doctor, Dr. J.W. Epstein. Looking back, I was impressed by the combination of...
A Community Practitioner and Policy Advocate Who Stresses Holistic, Patient-Centered Care
Community practices have long been a keystone of our nation’s oncology care delivery system by allowing patients with cancer to receive specialized treatment near their homes and places of business. Innovative clinicians in the community setting are also leading efforts to create a more efficient...
ASCO Leadership for 2022–2023 Term Announced
Individuals elected to ASCO leadership for the 2022–2023 term were announced earlier in the year. Lynn M. Schuchter, MD, FASCO, was elected to serve as the Society’s President beginning in June 2023. Dr. Schuchter will take office as President-Elect immediately after the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting in ...
Growing Up in a House Filled With Science Leads to a Career in Breast Cancer and Health Outcomes Research
Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Texas Oncology, was reared in Plano, Texas, a city in the sprawling Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. “My father was an electrical engineer with a PhD, and all throughout my childhood, I was exposed to the wonders ...
NCI Launches Program to Offer Molecular Characterization of Childhood Cancers
In support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot goal of fostering data sharing in cancer research, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched the Molecular Characterization Initiative for pediatric tumors. This program offers tumor...
An International Leader Bridges the Political Divide in the Name of Humanity and Cancer Care
Michael Silbermann, DMD, PhD, was born on January 19, 1935, in the old quarter of Acre, a northern Arab city stretching along the north end of the Bay of Haifa in present-day Israel. “Acre, which was developed more than 4,000 years ago, was one of the primary harbors of the Phoenician people....
Turning Point
On a cool, gray November morning, I took the call from a walk-in doctor about Carla, a 26-year-old woman with progressive lymphadenopathy who was refusing investigations because of severe needle phobia. Carla was willing to meet with me to discuss treatment options for a suspected diagnosis of...
City of Hope Researcher Receives Margaret L. Kripke Legend Award for Promotion of Women in Cancer
Leslie Bernstein, PhD, Director of City of Hope’s Division of Biomarkers of Early Detection and Prevention, received the Margaret L. Kripke Legend Award for Promotion of Women in Cancer Medicine and Cancer Science. Dr. Bernstein has made a substantial mark on both science and society by...
Lynn M. Schuchter, MD, FASCO, to Become ASCO President-Elect, 2022–2023, Following Annual Meeting
Individuals elected to ASCO leadership for the 2022–2023 term were announced earlier in the year. ASCO elected Lynn M. Schuchter, MD, FASCO, a long-time member and volunteer, to serve as its President beginning in June 2023. Dr. Schuchter will take office as President-Elect immediately after the...
Mourned and Missed
The respected members of the oncology community listed here passed away in 2021–2022. The ASCO Post remembers them, their lives, and their contributions to cancer research and treatment.
Joseph R. Bertino, MD
Dr. Bertino garnered many honors for his scientific contributions leading to curative...
Alex Choi, MD, Joins Palliative Care Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital
Alex Choi, MD, recently joined the faculty of the Palliative Care Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital as Instructor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine). Dr. Choi received his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria and completed a combined internal medicine...
City of Hope’s Department of Surgery Chair Awarded 2022 Flance-Karl Award, Given by the American Surgical Association
Yuman Fong, MD, Chair of City of Hope’s Department of Surgery and Director of its Center for Surgical Innovation, has been named a recipient of the 2022 Flance-Karl Award by the American Surgical Association (ASA). The award is given annually to one surgeon in the United States who has made...
Albert Einstein Cancer Center Announces New Appointments to Key Leadership Positions
The Albert Einstein Cancer Center (AECC) in Bronx, New York, has announced the appointment of three faculty members to key leadership positions, reflecting the center’s commitment to basic science, translational, and clinical research and its core principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
...
Narratives in Oncology Through the Years
Beginning in 2012, The ASCO Post introduced Narratives in Oncology, a special commemorative issue profiling several of the many leaders in the oncology community.
Over the past years, many in the oncology community have been profiled in this commemorative issue. Here is a complete list of...
ASCO Establishes Center for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Sybil Green, JD, RPh, MHA, to Serve as Center’s Vice President
On April 12, 2022, ASCO announced the establishment of the ASCO Center for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, which will advance the Society’s equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) goals across the organization and throughout the wider oncology community. ASCO Chief Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion ...
City of Hope Receives $4.9 Million Grant
City of Hope’s Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine has received a $4.9 million grant to train the next generation of scientific leaders in basic stem cell research and its translation into novel, life-saving treatments.
The award from the California Institute for...
A Global Humanist of Heroic Proportions Who Never Lost Sight of the Wounded Living in the Shadows of Poverty
Global health crusader Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, had a wildly unconventional childhood, which helped inform his adult life as a medical humanitarian. Dr. Farmer was born in West Adams, a town that lies along the verdant valley surrounding the Hoosic River in northern Massachusetts. He was the second of ...
New FDA-Approved Oncology Drugs (2021–2022)
Over the past year (May 2021–May 2022), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved and expanded indications for many drugs related to the treatment of different types of cancers and adverse events. The new approvals and accelerated approvals are listed below.
FAM-TRASTUZUMAB...
ASCO Recognizes 2022 Fellows of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
On June 4, 2022, 17 individuals received the distinction of FASCO, “Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology” during the ASCO Annual Meeting. The FASCO distinction recognizes ASCO members for their extraordinary volunteer service, dedication, and commitment to ASCO. The following members ...
