UPCOMING
MARCH 1 Chautauqua Weekend Rosewood Miramar Beach, Montecito
MAY 4 JWCI Auxiliary La Odisea Beverly Hills Hotel
MAY 8 Associates for Breast and Prostate Cancer Studies (ABCs) Mother’s Day Luncheon Four Seasons Los Angeles
MAY 8 Irene Dunne Guild General Meeting and Think Pink Event Upper Bel Air Bay Club
For more information on these and other upcoming events, please contact Tess Csiszar at 310-829-8168 or Theresa.Csiszar@stjohns.org
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SAINT JOHN'S MAGAZINE
A Homecoming for Dr. Richard Essner Surgical oncologist Richard Essner, MD, has joined the John Wayne Cancer Institute as professor of surgery, director of surgical oncology and co-director of the melanoma and cutaneous oncology research program. Dr. Essner is no stranger to JWCI. He was a surgical oncology fellow at the Institute from 1992 to 1994 and served as an assistant director of surgical oncology from 1994 to 2007. During his first stint at the JWCI, Dr. Essner says he was deeply influenced by Donald L. Morton, MD, the renowned melanoma researcher and co-founder of the JWCI. “The John Wayne Cancer Institute for many years led the world in innovation in cancer care with development of the sentinel lymph node biopsy technology and the creation of vaccines and immunotherapy as primary treatments of cancer,” he says. “For me, working in the melanoma field, it’s an honor to follow after Dr. Morton, who was my friend and mentor; not only for his skill as a cancer researcher but also as a surgeon and educator of the oncology fellows. The work he did laid the groundwork for the latest successes in oncology.” Dr. Essner’s practice is focused on complex surgical oncology with a primary interest in caring for patients with melanoma and other types of skin cancers as well as head and neck diseases. His research focuses on improving the quality of melanoma surgery to produce better outcomes and cosmetic results. His research also includes developing methods to reduce the incidence of cancer using surgery with immunotherapy or targeted therapy, allowing these other approaches to help when surgery alone is not enough. Treatment of cancer is rapidly changing throughout the world, but unfortunately not all patients are cured. “My goal at the John Wayne Cancer Institute is to continue the excellence in cancer research, surgical oncology training and patient care and education,” he says. “We have a superb team of oncologists, surgeons and researchers who will ignite the next successes in oncology in the coming years.”