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Choosing A Doctor

 
Choosing a doctor that is right for you can make all the difference in your treatment experience. Below are doctors with national and international reputations for their work with mesothelioma patients. The American Cancer Society has provided a checklist of topics to consider and questions to ask your doctor which may be helpful in choosing a doctor as your treating physician or to get a second opinion. 
 
CA · CT · DC · FL · IL · MA · MI · NE · NM · NY · NC · PA · TN · TX · WA  

California
   

Dr. David M. Jablons

 
Box 1674, UCSF 
San Francisco, CA 94143-1674 
Contact: (415) 885-3882 
E-mail: jablonsd@surgery.ucsf.edu 
 
Dr. Jablons is Chief of General Thoracic Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco-Mount Zion Medical Center; a Program Leader of Thoracic Oncology at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center; an Associate Professor of Surgery and UCSF- Mount Zion Medical Center, and holds the ADA endowed chair in Thoracic Oncology. Dr. Jablons' treatment and research specialties includes the treatment of pleural mesothelioma with pleurectomy/decortication.
 
Dr. Thierry Jahan   
UCSF, Box 1705, Cancer Center 7th Fl. 
San Francisco, CA 94143 
Contact: (415) 353-9888 
E-mail: thierry.jahan@ucsfmedctr.org 
 
Dr. Jahan is a Clinical Assistant Professor at UCSF Medical Center and a Thoracic Cancer Specialist.
 
Dr. Mark Lischner   
2 Medical Plaza, Suite 100 
Roseville, CA 95661 
Contact: (916) 786-7498 
 
Dr. Robert Cameron   
Dept. of Surgery, UCLA Medical School 
Center for the Health Sciences, Rm 62-215 
Box 951741 
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1741 
Contact: (310) 794-7333 
E-mail: rcameron@surgery.medsch.ucla.edu 
 
Dr. Cameron is the Director of Thoracic Oncology, Department of Surgery, at the UCLA Medical Center; Chief of General Thoracic Surgery at the Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital; and an Assistant Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Surgical Oncology at UCLA. Dr. Cameron has extensive experience treating mesothelioma patients.

 
Connecticut    
Dr. Mark Cullen   
135 College Street, Rm. 366 
New Haven, CT 06510 
Contact: (203) 785-6434 
E-mail: markcullen@yale.edu 
 
Dr. Cullen is the Director of Yale's Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program and a Professor of Medicine and Public Health at Yale University School of Medicine.

 
Washington, D.C.    
Dr. Paul Sugarbaker    
Sugarbaker Oncology Associates 
Washington Cancer Institute CG-175 
100 Irving Street, N.W 
Washington, D.C. 20010  
Contact: (202) 877-3908 
 
Dr. Sugarbaker is the Director of Surgical Oncology at the Washington Cancer Institute. He specializes in treatment of peritoneal mesotheliomas.

 
Florida
   
Dr. Lary Robinson   
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute 
12902 Magnolia Drive 
Tampa, FL 33612  
Contact: (813) 972-4673  
 
Dr. Robinson is the Director of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. He offers a Multi-Disciplinary method of treatment for malignant mesothelioma.

Illinois
Hedy Kindler, MD    
5841 S. Maryland Ave. 
MC 2115 
Chicago, IL 60637 
Contact: (773) 702-6149  
E-mail:hkindler@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu  
Dr. Kindler is the Medical Director of GI Oncology at University of Chicago Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago.
 
     
Nicholas J. Vogelzang, MD   
Ben May Institute for Cancer Research  
University of Chicago 
Chicago, IL 
Contact: (773) 702-6743  
 
Treatment: Dr. Vogelzang is the Fred C. Buffett Professor of Medicine and Chair in Genitourinary Oncology, Professor of Surgery at the Ben May Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Chicago, and Director of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center. He is a nationally recognized authority on the development and testing of new anti-cancer drugs. The University of Chicago Cancer Research Center is one of the few sites selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to sponsor these clinical trials in all Phases of testing.

Massachusetts    
Dr. Elizabeth Healy Baldini   
Brigham & Women’s Hospital 
Radiation Oncology 
75 Francis Street, ASB1-L2 
Boston, MA 02115 
Contact: (617) 732-6313 
 
Dr. Baldini is a thoracic surgeon at Carole M. & Philip L. Lowe Thoracic Oncology Program at Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School.
 
Dr. Jeanne M. Lukanich   
Brigham & Women’s Hospital 
Department of Surgery, Thoracic Surgery 
75 Francis Street 
Boston, MA 02115 
Contact: (617) 732-5922 
E-mail: jmlukanich@bics.bwh.harvard.edu 
 
Dr. Lukanich is a thoracic surgeon and the Clinical Director of Lung Transplant Service at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, as well as an instructor in surgery at Harvard Medical School.
 
Dr. Arthur T. Skarin   
Dana Farber Cancer Institute 
44 Binney Street, D1234 
Boston, MA 02115 
Contact: (617) 632-3468 
E-mail: arthur_skarin@dfci.harvard.edu  
 
Dr. Skarin is an Associate Physician at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
 
Dr. David J. Sugarbaker   
Brigham & Women's Hospital 
Division of Thoracic Surgery  
75 Francis Street 
Boston, MA 02115 
Contact: (617) 732-6824 
 
An oncologist and thoracic surgeon, Dr. Sugarbaker is Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Brigham & Women's Hospital. Dr. Sugarbaker is also the Chief of Surgical Services at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. His Tri-Modal Therapy has met with much success, and is described in more detail in the Articles and Resources section.

 
Michigan    
Dr. Harvey Pass   
Harper University Hospital 
Wayne State University 
3990 John Road, Suite 2102 
Detroit, MI 48201 
Contact: (313) 745-8746 
 
Dr. Pass is Chief of Thoracic Oncology and the Thoracic Oncology Program Leader at Karmanos Cancer Institute; Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Detroit VA Hospital, and a Professor of Surgery and Oncology at Wayne State University. His Photo-Dynamic therapy is an aggressive new treatment for malignant mesothelioma.

 
Nebraska    
Dr. Brian Loggie   
Creighton University Medical Center 
Division of Surgical Oncology, Suite 3700 
601 North 30th Street 
Omaha, NE 68131 
Contact: (402) 280-5009 
 
Dr. Loggie is Chief of Surgical Oncology and Director of the Cancer Center at Creighton University Medical Center, as well as a Professor of Surgery at Creighton University Medical School. He specializes in treating peritoneal mesothelioma.

 
New Mexico    
Dr. Claire F. Verschraegen   
University of New Mexico  
900 Camino de Salud NE 
Albuquerque NM 87131  
Contact: (505) 272-5837 
E-mail: cverschraegen@salud.unm.edu 
 
Dr. Verschraegen is an oncologist and the Director of Experimental Therapeutics at the University of New Mexico. She is an expert in the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma.

 
New York    
Dr. Valerie W. Rusch   
Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 
1275 York Ave 
New York, NY 10021 
Contact: (212) 639-5873  
 
Dr. Rusch is the Chief of Thoracic Service at Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center. She specializes in the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. Her work is primarily focused on pleural decortication to extrapleural pneumonectomy.
 
Dr. Mary Louise L. Keohan   
161 Fort Washington Ave., Suite 910 
New York, NY 10032 
Contact: 212-305-0592 or 212-326-5511 
 
Dr. Mary Louise Keohan is an oncologist specializing in the treatment of mesothelioma and sarcoma at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is conducting multimodality studies of patients with pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma and other connective tissue oncology studies. The Center is located at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
 
Dr. Roman Perez-Soler   
New York University 
Kaplan Cancer Center 
New York, NY 10019 
Contact: (212) 263-8043  
 

Dr. Perez-Soler heads up the Phase II L-NDDP as well as the Platar trial for pleural mesothelioma.

 
Dr. Robert Taub   
161 Fort Washington Avenue  
Herbert Irving 9-907  
New York, NY 10032 
Contact: (212) 305-6921  
 
Dr. Taub practices in New York City, and offers a Tri-Modal therapy for treatment of malignant mesothelioma.

 
North Carolina    
Dr. David H. Harpole, Jr.   
DUMC Box 3617 
3582 Duke Hospital South 
Durham, NC 27710  
Contact: (919) 684-3683  
E-mail: harpo002@mc.duke.edu 
 
Dr. Harpole is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Duke University Medical Center and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Durham VAMC.

 
Pennsylvania    
Dr. Daniel Sterman   
3600 Spruce St. 
Philadelphia, PA 19104 
Contact: (215) 614-0984  
 
Dr. Sterman is the Director of Interventional Pulmonary and an Assistant Professor at University of Pennsylvania Medical School. He co-authored of several informative articles on treatment and clinical trials for pleural mesothelioma.
 
Dr. Larry Kaiser   
University of Pennsylvania 
4th Floor 
Philadephia, PA 19104 
Contact: (215) 662-7538 
 
Dr. Kaiser is Chair of the Department of Surgery, Director of General Thoracic Surgery, Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program & Center for Lung Cancer and Related Disorders, and a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School.

 
Tennesse    
Dr. Spencer McCachren   
Thompson Cancer Survival Center 
1915 White Ave., 1st Floor 
Knoxville, TN 37916 
Contact: (865) 541-1720 
 

 
Texas    
W. Roy Smythe, MD   
Professor and Chairman Department of Surgery
The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center
Scott and White Clinic
2401 South 31st Street
Temple, Texas 76508
E-mail: wrsmythe@swmail.sw.org  
Dr. W. Roy is a thoracic surgeon and a Professor of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. He has extensive experience with treating mesothelioma patients and is a leading researcher in the field of gene therapy.

 
WASHINGTON     
Dr. Eric Vallieres   
1959 NE Pacific Street 
Seattle, WA 98195 
(206) 548-4477 
 
Dr. Vallieres is a thoracic surgeon who practices in Seattle at the University of Washington, and offers Multi-Modal therapy for treatment Medical Center of malignant mesothelioma.