Dr. William J. Irvin Jr., oncology medical director, director of clinical research and medical director of outpatient infusion centers, Bon Secours Cancer Institute at St. Francis, Midlothian
Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Virginia; medical degree, internship and residency in internal medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University; fellowship in hematology/oncology, University of North Carolina
Family: Wife, Suzanne; children, Liam, Nora Kate and Carter; two dogs, Pickles and Olive
Career mentor: Dr. Lisa Carey
Book you’d recommend: “Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It,” by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
Hobbies: Spending time with family, playing golf, watching my favorite sports teams
Breast cancer has been the subject of high-profile public awareness campaigns for decades. What impact has that had? Over the past 30-plus years, breast cancer mortality rates have decreased by 43%. Half of that decrease is due to improved therapies, and half is due to improved screening, such as mammograms.
What therapies for breast cancer are you most enthused about? The continued development of antibody-drug conjugates — think of a Trojan horse (the antibody) delivering a drug payload (the Greek army) inside a cancer cell (the city of Troy) — is very exciting and is leading to many opportunities for new therapies with improved side-effect risks over standard chemotherapy. With improved systemic therapies, we now have opportunities to give less therapy to achieve a cure, thus avoiding additional toxicity. Overcoming resistance to endocrine or anti-estrogen therapy in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer continues to improve with two new FDA-approved medications in 2023.
But we still have a long way to go, both in improving options for treatment and options for minimizing side effects and improving quality of life.
Dr. Laura A. Boomer, assistant professor, Division of General Pediatric Surgery; surgical director of NICU and PICU, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, Richmond
Education: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Marquette University; medical degree, University of Toledo; general surgery residency, University of Nevada School of Medicine; surgical critical care and advanced minimally invasive and robotic surgery training, Nationwide Children’s Hospital; pediatric surgery fellowship, LeBonheur Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Family: My parents split their time between Lake George in Indiana and Marco Island, Florida. My sister and two nieces, Nora and Payton, live in Toledo, Ohio.
Career mentors: My primary mentors in residency were Dr. John Gosche and Dr. Alex Feliz. Both Dr. Gail Besner (Columbus) and Dr. Eunice Huang (now at Vanderbilt) have mentored me through the challenges of being a woman in surgery. Here at ChoR, I am lucky enough to call Dr. Jeff Haynes my primary mentor.
Favorite dish: Though I love to cook, I’m not sure I have a favorite dish. My favorite cooking tradition is Thanksgiving Day — every year, my parents come to Richmond, and together we cook a feast for residents, nurses, nurse practitioners and other colleagues of mine who can’t be home with their loved ones for the holiday.
How do you put your patients and their parents at ease? I think the most important thing is just trying to take the time to make sure they understand everything. In particular, for my patients with complex oncology diagnoses or congenital anomalies, I like to have multiple conversations leading up to expected longer procedures. It is important to also make sure to address the children and adolescents directly in an age-appropriate way so that they fully understand.
Dr. David Lanning
Dr. David Lanning
Associate chief medical officer, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University; professor, Division of General Pediatric Surgery, Richmond
Other medical specialties: General pediatric surgery and adolescent bariatric (weight loss) surgery
Education: General surgery training at VCU; pediatric surgery fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan
Family: Wife Emily and three kids — Eric, 15; Meredith, 17; and Dresden, 18
Career mentors: For clinical work, Dr. Charles Bagwell, chief of general pediatric surgery at CHoR; and from an administrative standpoint, Dr. Ron Clark
Your favorite dish: Chicken tikka masala
Your hobby: Racing my Mazda Miata
How do you help put parents of your patients at ease? Truly listening to them and hearing their concerns. Sitting down with the patient and their family, and also telling them I will treat their child like they’re my own.
What innovations in pediatric surgery are you excited about? I am excited about the advancements in metabolic and bariatric surgery for adolescent patients and the continued evidence in favor of this approach for many patients. Also, I am excited about our increased utilization of the da Vinci surgical robot, as well as performing laparoscopic gastroesophageal dissociation procedures in appropriately selected patients.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Sign In
Free Newsletter
