It is with great sadness that I share the recent passing of an oncology icon, Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. As said by Dr. Wayne Frederick, a mentee, surgical oncologist, and president of Howard University, “He was a surgeon par excellence, oncologist, medical educator, civic leader, and mentor to me and so many others.”
Robert O. Hickman, a pediatric nephrologist and inventor of a catheter that revolutionized care for cancer patients, died on April 4. He was 92.
Paul Godley died after a brief illness on March 31. He was the Rush S. Dickson Distinguished Professor of Hematology and Oncology in the School of Medicine, a professor of epidemiology at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and senior fellow at the Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
In 2007, I was happily working as a newly minted director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville and continuing the tradition that Dr. Hal Moses had established in building a world-class cancer center.
John Mendelsohn understood the urgency of moving discoveries out of the laboratory and into patients
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the city of Houston, and the world of oncology have lost a great leader in Dr. John Mendelsohn, who contributed greatly to his institution, his community, and his field of expertise.
I was heartbroken to learn of the passing of my mentor, colleague, and friend, Waun Ki Hong. Dr. Hong was the quintessential physician scientist who specialized in all aspects of medicine, but most notably patient care, research, and education. This is a devastating loss for the entire oncology community, and especially for all of the patients he cared for and helped.
This week, we lost a cancer research pioneer, and friend and mentor to many in the field, with the sudden death of Waun Ki Hong, M.D., a world-renowned clinical researcher who leaves behind a remarkable legacy.
Waun Ki Hong, M.D., F.A.C.P., D.M.Sc.(Hon.), Head, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, October 22, 2013. For Messenger- First Person.Yesterday, I received a succession of phone calls through the afternoon and evening—from Roy Herbst, chief of medical oncology at the Yale Cancer Center, Marge Foti, president of the American Association for Cancer Research, Patrick Hwu, head of the Division of Cancer Medicine at the MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), and Otis Brawley, professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University.
Around March, my friend Howard Ozer told me he was heading out on a safari. He did these things often, adding to his collection of trophies.
Charles A. Coltman Jr., a pioneer of treatment of leukemia and lymphoma, a long-time chair of SWOG, and a co-founder of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, died after a long illness on Nov. 28. He was 88.
