Gynecologic Oncology: Changing the Landscape of Cancer Care for Women in East Tennessee
The year 2009 is a well-remembered milestone in the development of the Cancer Institute. With cancer being named as one of the first two Centers of Excellence at the medical center in 1999, intense planning and development of a broad spectrum of cancer services had been undertaken with the program growing steadily each year. One deficit in the growing cancer program and in the community at large was comprehensive, multidisciplinary services for women with cancer of the reproductive organs. Recruitment of a physician to lead the gynecologic oncology service line and develop a robust program was a high priority for the leadership of the Cancer Institute. Although several potential candidates for the gynecologic oncology program had been interviewed, we had not identified a physician with the experience, expertise and a shared vision to lead the development of an advanced gynecologic oncology service line to care for women in the East Tennessee region.
After continuing strategic discussions on the need for these services and leadership, John L. Bell, MD, Director of the Cancer Institute, reached out to a former East Tennessean and colleague, Larry C. Kilgore, MD, for help. At that time, Kilgore served as a professor and the J. Max Austin Endowed Chair in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB). The university was known for having an excellent Gynecologic Oncology and fellowship training program, and Kilgore was a nationally known surgeon, researcher and professor in the field. Kilgore was invited to provide a visiting professor lecture to the faculty and residents in the OB/GYN Department at UTGSM and to visit the Cancer Institute in May 2009. During his visit, the Cancer Institute leadership provided a tour of the facilities and discussed the vision for growth of the cancer program at the medical center. The need for gynecologic oncologists to provide vital services for women in the region was a top priority discussion item. A few weeks later, Bell and the leadership team had a very unexpected but most welcome surprise when Kilgore indicated that he was interested in
| Cancer Institute Annual Report 6
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