When Mack Roach III, MD, was named as interim chair of the UCSF Radiation Oncology department in January, he saw it an opportunity and a challenge.
Within the first six months, the department has shown more than subtle changes.
In tandem with oversight of the department, in July, Roach was appointed as the new chair of the Cancer Committee for the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center. Roach will pick up where Alan Glassberg, MD, left off after serving as the chair from 1983 until his retirement this year. Like Glassberg, Roach will preside over a multidisciplinary committee that provides oversight of all cancer program activities accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.
According to Roach, during the past several months, one of the more noteworthy events has been the successful reintroduction of a previously abandoned annual course that emphasizes image guided radiotherapy. Internally, a new department manager, Vickie Lewis, and director of finance, Helen Tam, were recruited. And as the most visible improvement, the staff launched a redesigned, revamped and reinvigorated departmental
website with useful and essential information about the radiation oncology program at UCSF.
"This was a long time in the making," said Roach. "Our goal was to provide more information for patients in a site that was easy to navigate."
Perhaps the greatest challenge during his brief tenure as head of the department has been a growing backlog of breast cancer patients due in part to a staffing shortage. This was about to be exacerbated by the prospect that up to 10 faculty, residents and administrative staff were going on maternity and paternity leave during this calendar year. This daunting reality was something Roach would have to tackle head on.
Key Recruitment
With this anticipated surge of referrals for radiation oncology breast cancer patients on the horizon, he decided to "turn lemons into lemonade," as he described it. Although it took some coaxing, Roach was able to convince Barbara Fowble, MD, an internationally recognized expert in radiation and breast cancer -- who had recently moved to the Bay Area when her husband retired -- to join his team.
"In my opinion, she ranks among the top five breast radiation oncologists in the country," said Roach. "We are ecstatic that she will be joining our faculty."
Barbara Fowble
Before moving to California, Fowble was clinical director of the Radiation Oncology department, associate director of the Breast Evaluation Center and a senior member of the Division of Medical Science at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA.
Fowble has been rated one of the top physicians in the United States by such publications as
American Health Magazine, Best Doctors in America, Good Housekeeping, Town and Country, and
Philadelphia Magazine, and was featured in Time-Life's medical video on breast cancer.
Fowble has had a long, distinguished career dedicated to the treatment of breast cancer patients. Her research studies have defined the roles of breast conservation therapy as an alternative to mastectomy and radiation after mastectomy. Fowble has authored numerous scientific publications and served on the editorial boards of the
Journal of Clinical Oncology and the
International Journal of Radiation Oncology.
"I envision my role as one to enhance the care of breast cancer patients, mentor junior faculty and teach the residents," said Fowble. "I would promote all aspects of the breast cancer program at UCSF and would work to achieve a national reputation for the radiation oncology component."
Before joining the Fox Chase Cancer Center in 1994, Fowble was professor of radiation oncology and co-director of the breast cancer evaluation center at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She is an active member of many national organizations, including the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American College of Radiology, and was involved in the development of breast conservation therapy in the treatment of invasive breast cancer as part of a joint committee of experts.
"We are delighted to bring her on board," said Roach. "She is well renowned throughout the country as one of the leading radiation oncologists and will contribute greatly to our department."
