Back To School,
for doctors too ...
“There is nothing more important to me as
a physician than your cancer treatment.
I’ve been in practice for nearly two decades
and have had the privilege of telling many
patients that there is life beyond cancer.
As president of The Center for Cancer
and Blood Disorders, I want to lead by
example, practicing a firm belief
that all patients should receive the finest medical
care available, with the same concern and
compassion as a cherished
member of the family.”
Ray Page, D.O., Ph.D.
President and Medical Oncologist
The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders
The heights by great men reached and kept were not
attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions
slept, were toiling upward in the night. - Longfellow
This quote hits home for me as I reflect on my 17 years
of training with endless sleepless nights in the hospitals
where I experienced fear and sweaty palms because I stood
between the patient and death.
Never would I imagine that in my almost 20 years of
practice since then that my education would become even
more expansive and intensive.
Educating young doctors, medical students, and graduate
students gives me great personal reward. I am very excited
that over the next year I am going to be mentoring a “rising star” oncologist in a Healthcare Policy Fellowship program newly developed by the American Society of Clinical
Oncology (ASCO). There are two outstanding doctors in
this inaugural class – one from Harvard (who works with
me on the AMA House of Delegates policy) and the other
from the University of Chicago.
I was asked by ASCO leadership to spend the next year
mentoring one of the fellows. He graduated from Stanford
with honors; cum laude at Harvard Medical school; MBA
at Harvard Business School; and Chief Oncology Fellow
at the University of Chicago. He has done quite a bit of
Healthcare Policy work and spent time in Mumbai, India
working with the HIV positive transgender population.
I felt sorry for him having such a narrow institutional
medical exposure (joking, kinda), so with trepidation I am
going to bring him to little ol’ Weatherford, Texas to show
him how healthcare policy in oncology affects us in the
trenches of private practice providing cancer care in small
town Texas. He will have an epiphany.
We will work nationally to tackle the high costs of cancer
drugs and develop a certification program for treatment
pathways in cancer.
These young doctors will learn they are only on the
tip of the iceberg of their knowledge base and they
will become great physicians only by staying engaged
in lifelong learning.
Schedule appointments by calling
817-596-0637 or online at
www.thecentertx.com
Support services sponsored by:
To learn more about cancer care issues or to consult
with a physician about a cancer diagnosis, contact us at
817.596.0637.
AUGUST 2016 PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
Finally, I am very proud to be serving on the Weatherford Regional Medical Education Committee and
share in the excitement in bringing in our first medicine residents into training in the hospital.
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