Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - University of Virginia - (Page 4)

Humble Yet World Famous A new leader for UVA Cancer Center means a brighter future for residents of Virginia and beyond I SOCIAL MEDIA t was August 1982. Thomas Loughran Jr., MD, was training as an oncology (cancer) doctor in Seattle. He was working under the guidance of the late E.D. Thomas, MD, a Nobel prize winner for establishing bone marrow transplantation that has saved scores of lives. A woman with a mysterious blood illness was transferred to Loughran's hospital. This encounter would change the course of his career. Loughran was part of the team to discover the 4 SPRING 2 014 Meet the Man Behind UVA Cancer Center Get a glimpse of the personal side of Thomas Loughran Jr., MD, in the UVA Health System blog "Seven Quick Questions." Go to uvahealth.com/blog (search for "Loughran"). Sign up for the blog to stay in the know about breakthroughs and other exciting happenings at UVA. BY KELLY CASEY condition underlying her unusual symptoms: large granular lymphocyte leukemia (LGLL). A rare form of blood cancer, LGLL is thought to affect only about a thousand people in the U.S. each year. And no one likely knows more about LGLL than Loughran. As soon as he identiﬁed LGLL in his patient, he went into the laboratory to ﬁnd better ways to treat it. He has been studying LGLL and other blood diseases ever since. His patients, such as William Stellenwerf, travel far and wide to seek him out. Stellenwerf, who has homes in New Jersey and Massachusetts, will be coming to Virginia now that Loughran recently took the helm of UVA Cancer Center. Stellenwerf was diagnosed with LGLL in 2010 and was told he had two years to live. It took almost that long-and many frustrating encounters with the medical community-to ﬁnally ﬁnd Loughran. Loughran was the ﬁrst doctor to notice that Stellenwerf's 26-page pathology report was missing a key blood test, and he was soon able to reassure Stellenwerf that his disease would progress slowly and require close observation but no treatment. "It was such a relief to ﬁnd someone like him," Stellenwerf says. "Tom is so humble and yet he's world famous. I can't speak highly enough of him." BUILDING ON UVA'S STRENGTHS As director of UVA Cancer Center, Loughran is excited to lead an effort to try to become Virginia's ﬁ rst hospital designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute. For Virginians, this would mean more cancer treatments not widely available and a robust effort to help them avoid cancer altogether. UVA is already a national leader in cancer research, prevention, detection and treatment as an NCI-designated cancer center. But by expanding upon its research capabilities to develop new therapies and more effective ways to prevent cancer, UVA Cancer Center hopes to be in a position to earn NCI's highest designation by 2020. "What attracted me here is the outstanding strength of the university," Loughran says. "UVA Cancer Center provides the latest research and treatments to patients as it has been designated http://www.uvahealth.com/blog

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - University of Virginia

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - University of Virginia
Contents
Life in Balance
Healthy Dose
Humble Yet World Famous
Taming Diabetes Without Drugs
Occupational Hazards
The New Rules of Play
Shopping for Two
Back to Basics
Burn, Baby, Burn
Angelina Jolie
Rock Your Health
Breaking Up with Salt
Disgusting! (or Not?)
Virtual Health
Make an Informed Decision
Hitting the Jackpot
Caring for an Aging Parent?

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - University of Virginia