2023 Director’s Letter
and rectal surgeons, otolaryngologists, palliative care physicians, and oral and maxillofacial surgeons. In 2023, three new physicians joined the CI team: J. Nathan Cantrell, MD, Jonathan C. Delong, MD, and Michael L. Winstead, MD, DMD. Our team has grown to include nurse practitioners, physician assistants, genetic counselors, oncology nurses, oncology pharmacists, social workers, dieticians, nurse navigators, patient navigators, radiation therapists, integrative health practitioners and many other health care professionals with our team now approaching 500 members. In 1996, dedicated space for the first multidisciplinary oncology clinic was opened on the sixth floor of the south wing of the medical center. This was the first step in consolidating oncology services for the convenience of the patients and to enhance collaboration between oncology providers. In 2003, the Cancer Institute moved into new space in Medical Building D that increased the clinical space needed for the growing volumes, physicians and staff. This new facility included imaging services providing greater convenience for patients. Volumes and services continued to grow and in 2012, the Cancer Institute moved into a brand new 100,000 square-foot home that further increased clinical space and imaging services in Medical Building F. This move also included the relocation of a new state-of-the-art radiation oncology center in the Cancer Institute. Space continues to be a challenge as patient volumes increase and new programs and services are added such as Oncology Genetics and the Transplant and Cellular Therapy program. With the relocation of the
Greetings to all,
the advancement of the cancer program at the medical center. In 2023, the Cancer Institute (CI) launched a new five-year strategic plan (2023– 2027) outlining a number of objectives to be completed in the areas of patient care, research and education. Our team has begun the hard work to accomplish these goals. With so much still to do, we often do not take the time to reflect on where we have been and what has been accomplished. At the time I joined the medical center, the oncology team consisted of two medical oncologists, one radiation oncologist and as noted above, I was the first surgical oncologist. In support of the healing portion of our three- part mission of healing, education and discovery, our team has grown to include 18 medical oncologists, nine surgical oncologists, four radiation oncologists, three gynecologic oncologists, and two transplant and cellular therapy physicians. In addition to the above physicians, specialists with oncology specific fellowship training include pulmonologists, thoracic surgeons, urologists, neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons, colon
In 1988, nearing the completion of a surgical oncology fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, I came to interview for a position in the Department of Surgery at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine (UTGSM) and The University of Tennessee Medical Center. Recruited by Kimball Maull, MD, then chair for the Department of Surgery, I made the decision to join the medical center team being the first and only surgical oncologist in the region. I was charged with developing a surgical oncology practice and advancing the cancer program at the medical center. My goal was to create a cancer program so any person facing cancer in the region did not have to travel to obtain comprehensive, multi- disciplinary care often at the most difficult and vulnerable time in their life. I laid out the vision for the cancer program in a white paper written in early 1989, and we have continued on this path for almost 35 years.
We remain focused on the things that need to be accomplished to continue
| Cancer Institute Annual Report 2
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