We unexpectedly lost a dear friend and colleague, Dr. Cullen Taniguchi, in mid-November. Dr. Taniguchi was an exceptional and compassionate clinician, brilliant scientist, and nurturing mentor. Above all, he was a dedicated and loving husband, father, son, and brother. We deeply mourn his loss, but we forever cherish the memories and indelible legacy that he leaves with us.
Worta McCaskill-Stevens, MD, died on Nov. 15 from complications from a sarcoma. She was 74.
Worta McCaskill-Stevens, MD, a medical oncologist, former director of the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), and a tireless champion of addressing cancer disparities, passed away peacefully on Nov. 15. We share our deep condolences with her family, friends, colleagues, and those she impacted in her accomplished and inspirational career.
Michelle A. Rudek, a professor of oncology and director of the Analytical Pharmacology Shared Resource at Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, died Nov. 7. She was 51.
This week came word of the passing of Franklyn Prendergast, professor emeritus of the Mayo College of Medicine and Science and director emeritus of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center.
On Oct. 12, 2023, the world lost a brilliant mind, a dedicated physician and an extraordinary individual.
As a founding member of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, David Alberts, MD, and his influence on cancer research epitomizes Isaac Newton’s famous quote, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Irwin H. Krakoff, former director of the University of Vermont Cancer Center who has also served in key jobs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center, died on Aug. 9 in Savannah, GA.
Wendy R. Brewster, MD, PhD, a compassionate clinician-scientist who focused her career on caring for women with gynecologic cancer and studying at-risk populations and the disparate mechanisms leading to poor outcomes in endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancers, died of pancreatic cancer on July 24. She passed surrounded and supported by her family in Houston, where her sister lived.
In May 1991, I sat in a law firm conference room in Washington, DC, listening to a pitch from a small group of women who had the idea to launch a political advocacy movement around breast cancer. One of those women was Dr. Susan Love. The person next to me nudged me with her elbow and whispered, “She is famous. She wrote this unbelievable book.”
