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Wissam Abouzgheib is one of two Interventional Pulmonologist at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ. Interventional Pulmonology is an emerging field in Pulmonary that has dramatically changed the approach to evaluating pulmonary nodules, diagnosis and staging of lung cancer, treatment of lung cancer and diagnosis and treatment of pleural diseases. The Interventional Pulmonology Program at Emory University is the largest and most comprehensive program of its kind in the state of Georgia and in the Southeastern United States.

Cooper University Hospital is known for one of the top trauma units’s and now recognized for having a new state of the art cancer treatment facilities. Team Draft would like to thank Cooper and also Dr. Wissam Abouzgheib. Respond and Donate today as we Change the Face of Lung Cancer.

Richard G. Pestell, M.D., Ph.D. is an oncologist and endocrinologist who currently serves as the Director of the Kimmel Cancer Center, Chairman of the Department of Cancer Biology and Associate Dean of Cancer Programs at Jefferson Medical College, and Vice President of Oncology Services at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A native of Perth, Western Australia, Pestell received his M.B.B.S. in 1981 from the University of Western Australia, and his M.D. and Ph.D. in 1991 and 1997, respectively, from the University of Melbourne.[4] He was a postdoctoral clinical and research fellow in medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a postdoctoral research fellow in medicine at Harvard Medical School, respectively, from 1991 to 1993.[1][3]
Following his postdoctoral research, Pestell was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois from 1993 to 1996. In 1996, Pestell left Chicago to become an associate professor, and later professor, in the Department of Medicine and Developmental and Molecular Biology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, New York. Pestell would later serve as Chair of the Division of Endocrine-Dependent Tumor Biology at the Albert Einstein Cancer Center from 2000 to 2002.[4]
In 2002, Dr. Pestell was named Director of the Lombardi Cancer Center at the Georgetown University Medical Center.[3][5] During this tenure, Pestell also served as Associate Vice President of the Georgetown University Medical Center, and the Francis L. and Charlotte Gragnani Chair of the Department of Oncology at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.[1] While serving as Director of the Lombardi Cancer Center, Pestell led the successful effort for renewal of its National Cancer Institute designation,[6] and founded the Capital Breast Care Center with Andrea Jung of the Avon Foundation.[7] In 2005, Pestell was named President of the USA branch of the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research, and held that position until 2010. Pestell additionally served as the founding Director for the Delaware Valley Institute for Clinical and Translational Science from 2008 to 2010.

Team Draft had a great time with the medical and support staff at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Medical College, and would like to say thank you. It Takes a Team to Tackle Lung Cancer. Respond and Donate today!

Augusta, GA — Former Falcons and Panthers linebacker Chris Draft had some struggles on the field as a journeyman in the NFL. He played for 7 teams in 12 seasons including the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers. But it was nothing compared to what he faced shortly after retiring.
This December, his wife Keisha died of lung cancer, just one month after the two were married.

Now Draft spends his time traveling around the country raising awareness about lung cancer and also hopefully lifting the spirits of those battling the deadly disease.

On Friday, Draft paid a visit to the GHS Cancer Center in Augusta. He says he hopes the patients can try to find some joy in their lives despite what they’re going through.

Team Draft is leading a National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer, and has visited over 45 Centers across the United States, and Canada. Our blog, The Draft Report is our way of sharing the stories of the amazing doctors and researchers who are working diligently to save lives, and improve the chances of people affected by cancer. Please help us continue the FIGHT! Respond! IT TAKES A TEAM TO TACKLE LUNG CANCER!

Lung /Cheryl Krupp is a registered oncology nurse with almost 25 years of service to the community and Palmetto Health. I recently achieved my Master’s of Science and Education degree to further enhance my ability to inform and educate. I’m currently a member of the South Carolina Cancer Alliance, the Oncology Nursing Society, River Banks Oncology Local Chapter and a clinical instructor for the USC College of Nursing. The greatest recognition I have received was in 2002 when I received the South Carolina Nursing Excellence Palmetto Gold award. While I cherish this award, it does not match up to the sense of accomplishment that I feel inside every day when I make a difference in someone’s life. I have been working diligently since 2007 to develop our Thoracic Cancer Nurse Navigator program by educating, supporting, and navigating over 700 patients diagnosed with cancer. At our bi-monthly Thoracic Cancer Conference, I collaborate with thoracic surgeons, pulmonologists, radiologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and pathologists to present and discuss cases. My primary focus is supporting while educating patients and their loved ones through diagnostic evaluation, thoracic surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and support. Education about their disease process and treatments help patients to make informed decisions and enables them to take better care of themself.
Nurse Navigators are patient educators and advocates, care coordinators, system navigators, and community ambassadors on a mission to improve the cancer experience for each patient.

The Nurse Navigators are a support system for the patient and his/her family at a critical time — after diagnosis and through treatment — and serve as a “gateway” to Palmetto Health services.
Navigate patients through the diagnostic evaluation
Educate and support each patient empowering them to make informed treatment decisions
Remain a support system throughout the patient’s cancer treatment.

Team Draft would like to thank Cheryl Krupp  and also Palmetto Health . It Takes a Team to Tackle Lung Cancer. Respond and Donate today, as Team Draft continues our National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer 

You get a simple answer when you ask Dr. Samir N. Khleif about what areas of the Georgia Health Sciences University cancer program have the most potential.

“Everything.”

From Dr. Khleif’s standpoint, the major investments the university and its health system have made in cancer in recent years make it “fertile ground” to produce the next big advancement in cancer research and clinical care.

“The facilities are phenomenal, there is great teamwork and synergy between the research and clinical facilities, and there is just a tremendous amount of energy under the new leadership,” said Khleif, who was recruited from the National Institutes of Health, where he served as Chief of the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Vaccine Section.

His appointment as Director of the Georgia Health Sciences Cancer Center was effective Jan. 31. The position puts Khleif, whose NCI research group designed some of the first cancer vaccine clinical trials targeting specific genetic changes in cancer cells, over all aspects of the enterprise’s cancer clinical care and research.

The Georgia Health Sciences Cancer Center, which is working toward an NCI cancer center status, includes GHSU’s five-story, 167,000-square-foot research building, which opened in 2006, and its health system’s Cancer Center, which opened in 2010 to provide state-of-the-art treatment, including emerging therapies that have proven safe and effective enough in laboratory studies to test on patients.

Khleif said he is excited about the prospect of creating synergies and increasing collaboration between the core cancer group, which primarily consists of Medical College of Georgia faculty, and other components of the Georgia Health Sciences enterprise, such as the GHSU College of Dental Medicine.

“That is just one example,” he said. “There is a lot of expertise throughout the institution. There are people who are national experts in their fields.”

Khleif, who joined the National Cancer Institute in 1990, is also a medical oncology consultant with the National Naval Medical Center and a Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He studies ways to enlist the immune system’s cooperation with cancer treatment, both by bolstering its ability to attack cancer cells and inhibiting its faulty interference with cancer treatment.

During his tenure at the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Khleif served as the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the King Hussein Cancer Center and then of the King Hussein Institute for Biotechnology and Cancer, appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services through an agreement between the United States and the Kingdom of Jordan. He has also served as a Special Assistant to the FDA Commissioner, leading oncology efforts to make drug discovery and development more efficient, innovative and cost-effective.

Khleif earned his medical degree from the University of Jordan. He completed a residency in internal medicine from the Medical College of Ohio and a fellowship in medical oncology from the National Cancer Institute. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the author of numerous peer-reviewed papers and two books on cancer vaccines and medical oncology.

Khleif is a recipient of the National Institutes of Health Award for Merit, the NCI Directors’ Gold Star Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jordan Medical Association/General Union of Physicians.

Team Draft is leading a National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer, and has visited over 5o Centers across the United States, and Canada. Our blog, The Draft Report is our way of sharing the stories of the amazing doctors and researchers who are working diligently to save lives, and improve the chances of people affected by cancer. Please help us continue the FIGHT! Respond! IT TAKES A TEAM TO TACKLE LUNG CANCER!

Team Draft and Team LIVESTRONG® Challenge Series Heads to Philadelphia to Champion Cancer Survivors.  Lance Armstrong to Participate in Run and Ride at Seventh Annual Philly Challenge and Chris Draft to Serve as Keynote Speaker and Participate in Run.

The 2012 Team LIVESTRONG Challenge Series will return to Philadelphia Aug. 18-19 for the seventh time. The two-day event includes a 5K or 10K walk/run on Saturday and a multi-distance bike ride on Sunday, with distances ranging from 20-100 miles, providing options for a wide-range of fitness levels. Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, cycling champion and founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, will attend the weekend’s events and participate in both the run and ride. Chris Draft, former NFL linebacker and founder of the Chris Draft Family Foundation (CDFF), will participate in the run and serve as the keynote speaker at the fundraising dinner on Saturday.

“I am looking forward to joining our enthusiastic and dedicated supporters for the seventh annual Team LIVESTRONG Challenge in Philly,” said Armstrong. “This weekend is a great opportunity for us to unite in the fight against cancer and actively support the 28 million people affected by cancer worldwide.”

Team Draft, an initiative of the CDFF launched by Draft and his late wife Keasha during Keasha’s year-long battle with Stage IV Lung Cancer, is leading a national campaign to change the face of lung cancer by shattering the misconception that lung cancer is a “smoker’s disease.”

“Cancer came into my house, and it took my wife. Too many families are affected by this horrible disease. It’s time to respond,” said Draft. “That’s why Keasha and I launched Team Draft. She wanted to be an inspiration to those battling the disease and we wanted to raise awareness so that other families wouldn’t have to go through what we went through. Team Draft is committed to changing the face of lung cancer, but it takes a team to tackle cancer, and we are proud to work with the Lance Armstrong Foundation for this year’s Team LIVESTRONG Challenge.”

The Team LIVESTRONG Challenge is the Foundation’s popular three-part series in Team LIVESTRONG’s roster of more than two-dozen athletic events designed to raise funds for the fight against cancer. The Challenge inspires and empowers individuals, teams, families, friends and co-workers to unite in the fight against the world’s leading cause of death. One hundred percent of participant and donor gifts to the LIVESTRONG Challenge series go directly to support cancer programs and initiatives. Since 1997, the Challenge events have raised more than $70 million.

In the 2011 Philly Challenge, more than 5,000 participants raised more than $2.6 million for the fight against cancer. To date, the LIVESTRONG Challenge Philly has raised more than $16 million since 2006. Philadelphia will be the second stop in this year’s series, which kicked off in Davis, Calif. in June and ends in Austin, Texas on Oct. 21. The Philly Challenge takes place at Montgomery County Community College. Those interested in registering can visit www.TeamLIVESTRONG.org.

About the Lance Armstrong Foundation
The Lance Armstrong Foundation serves people affected by cancer and empowers them to take action against the world’s leading cause of death. With its iconic yellow LIVESTRONG wristband, the Foundation became a symbol of hope and inspiration to people affected by cancer throughout the world. Created in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, the Foundation provides free patient navigation services to survivors with financial, emotional and practical challenges that accompany the disease. Known for its powerful brand – LIVESTRONG – the Foundation is also a leader in the global movement on behalf of 28 million people living with cancer today. Since its inception in 1997, the Foundation has raised nearly $500 million for the fight against cancer. For more information, visit LIVESTRONG.org.

Team Draft is leading a National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer, and has visited over 45 Centers across the United States, and Canada. Our blog, The Draft Report is our way of sharing the stories of the amazing doctors and researchers who are working diligently to save lives, and improve the chances of people affected by cancer. Please help us continue the FIGHT! Respond! IT TAKES A TEAM TO TACKLE LUNG CANCER!

Dr. Duttenhaver specializes in radiation oncology. He studied zoology at the University of Georgia — Athens, and then attended medical school at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He completed an internship at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Denver before doing his residency training in radiation therapy at Harvard Medical School. Duttenhaver practices in the Radiation Oncology Department at the Anderson Cancer Institute.

Team Draft would like to thank Dr. Duttenhaver and the staff at the Anderson Cancer Institute. It Take a Team to Tackle Lung Cancer. Respond and Donate today!

Board Certified: Internal medicine
Board Eligible: Medical oncology
Medical Degree: University of Missouri in Columbia, MO
Residency: Brown Medical School in Providence, RI
Fellowship: Brown Medical School in Providence, RI; Boston University School of Medicine in Providence, RI
Special Interests: Clinical research, lung and colon cancer, and palliative care
Dr. Reusch is a member of the American Medical Society, the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Medical Women Society, the Rhode Island Medical Women Society, and the Society of Rhode Island Clinical Oncologists.

“Oncology is a field that still engages the scientist in me with constant research and advances, but combines it with the personal interactions that are unique and a perpetual source of inspiration and positive attitude. I keep telling my non-oncology colleagues that I have the most life-embracing patients in medicine!” -Dr. Reusch

Thank you Dr. Reusch for speaking about the stereotypes that are associated with lung Cancer. Respond and Donate today! It take a Team to Tackle Lung Cancer.