Monmouth's Ask the Doctor July/August

H E A L T H A R T I C L E S A N D Q & A the long-term follow-up care of survivors of childhood cancers. Take Dr. Jane Cooke Wright, a pioneering cancer researcher and physician who broke barriers as an African-American woman in Continued from page 5... Especially this year, as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the National Cancer Act of 1971, it feels only appropriate to reflect on the impact of others in the cancer research community who, although they are no longer with us, made possible so much of what came after that momentous legislation. That includes Dr. Joe Simone, who also did foundational work on childhood leukemia in his long and distinguished career, beginning at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital but also at several other NCI-Des ignated Cancer Centers, where he held leadership posts. Dr. Simone died in January at the age of 85. Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Simone helped direct—along with Dr. Don Pinkel—some of the landmark clinical trials that allowed the term “cure” to be used in the same sentence as “childhood leuke mia.” He also oversaw the creation of one of the first clinics dedicated to

Norman E. Sharpless, M.D., NCI Director

medicine. Beginning in the early 1950s, her work established the efficacy of several different chemotherapy drugs for solid tumors, and she pioneered tailoring treatment based on the side effects patients were experiencing. She was also a founding member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and held leadership positions in many other research organizations. And then there is Dr. Jimmie Holland, who in the 1980s essentially created the field of psycho-oncology during her long and storied career at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. A tireless advocate for patients, Dr. Holland led efforts to develop validated measures of patients’ quality of life for use in clinical trials and championed research on cancer’s long term psychological impact on survivors, such as anxiety and depression. And any discussion of cancer pioneers is incomplete without mentioning Dr. Min Chiu Li, who, while at NCI in the 1950s and 1960s, helped to bring about several paradigm-changing advances in cancer treatment. He was the first clinician to cure a solid tumor with chemotherapy—choriocarcinoma, which forms in the uterus. But his research also provided one of the earliest examples of identifying biomarkers that could predict treatment response and the use of adjuvant therapy to wipe out any disease lurking after initial treatment. Not only did all of these remarkably intelligent and perseverant researchers help to improve the lives of so many who were sick and in need of care, they also had an immeasurable influence on so many who pursued medicine and research as their career and calling. They shared a commitment to training the next generations of cancer researchers, imparting their knowledge, commitment, and desire to serve in the way they knew best. In so doing, they helped to create and grow a web of excellence that is woven throughout the entire cancer care enterprise in this country and beyond. It’s daunting to try to capture the impact these amazing scientists had—and there are, of course, many others who I have not mentioned. But for me, during a time of such monumental change and discovery in cancer research and care, it’s worth

while to think about and appreciate those who laid the foundation for where we stand today. We’re all the better for what they did, and that should be celebrated and remembered. Source: Cancer.gov

ASK THE DOCTOR

SUMMER 2022

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