Medical Advisory Board
Sunflower Wellness enjoys the support of some of the top cancer researchers and clinicians in the world, including the distinguished group that forms our Medical Advisory Board.
Francine Halberg, MD
Radiation Oncologist, Marin Cancer Institute at Marin General Hospital
Dr. Halberg has practiced radiation oncology at Marin Cancer Institute at Marin General Hospital since 1991. More than 60% of her patients are women with breast cancer. more...
In addition to her practice, she is Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco. Known for her patient care and clinical skill, she has been named as one of the "Bay Area's Best Doctors" and "Top Doctors in the U.S.". Widely published in peer-review journals, she serves on many state and national studies and committees, including the California State Breast Cancer Research Council and Marin County's Women's Health Study. She received her medical degree from Cornell University (New York) and completed her residencies at Stanford University Medical Center. Prior to starting her practice In Marin County, she was a fulltime faculty member at Stanford and later at UCSF.
I. Craig Henderson, MD
Adjunct Prof., Hematology/Oncology, UCSF
Member, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Craig Henderson, M.D. is one of the world's leading breast cancer clinicians and researchers. He is a medical hematologist and oncologist specializing in breast cancer research and treatment. more...
“Almost every patient needs more than the therapies provided by physicians and nurses in hospitals and clinics. Among the most important of these tools for a better life quality and possibly even improved survival is a program of regular physical exercise. The evidence that physical activity will reduce the risk of developing breast cancer is quite solid. Now we need to obtain similar evidence on the effects of exercise in patients who already have cancer. The Sunflower Wellness Program is leading efforts both to provide innovative programs and to systematically study these programs in patients with a wide variety of cancers and especially among those with breast cancer. I applaud this endeavor.”
Dr. Henderson spent the first 25 years of his career conducting clinical and translational research in academia, first at the National Cancer Institute, then for 18 years at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard where he directed the Breast Cancer Program. He moved on to University of California, San Francisco where he was Chief of Medical Oncology and Deputy Director of the Cancer Center. Currently he is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at UCSF and sees breast cancer patients there at the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In 1995 Dr. Henderson became Chairman and CEO of SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals in Menlo Park, California, continuing into a Board and consulting position when SEQUUS was merged with Alza in 1999. In 2000, Dr. Henderson helped to create a new biotechnology company, Access Oncology, Inc. (AOI, becoming CEO and President in 2002. In 2004, AOI was merged with Keryx Biopharmaceuticals and Dr. Henderson continued as President of the combined entity until April of 2008. Between 2004 and 2006 Keryx raised more than $170 M in private placements and secondary offerings.
Highlights of Dr. Henderson’s career include:
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At the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Dr. Henderson developed the breast cancer research program and founded the Breast Evaluation Center, which was one of the first multi-disciplinary breast cancer programs of its type.
- As a university based researcher, Dr. Henderson’s work focused primarily on the treatment of breast cancer. He was the Principal Investigator of a national trial that enrolled over 3,000 women and established the value of paclitaxel as a treatment for early breast cancer. For more than a decade he chaired the Early Breast Cancer Trialists Group (“Oxford Overviews”) that performed meta-analyses that established the value of adjuvant chemotherapy and endocrine therapy in early breast cancer and contributed substantially to the acceptance of these treatments throughout the world. He championed and/or led studies that eventually proved that higher doses of cytotoxic therapy (including studies of high dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow or stem cell support) provided little or no benefit but substantially increased the toxicity of these treatments. In addition, as the head of the breast cancer research program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute from 1974 - 1991 and Chairman of the Breast Committee of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B from 1989 – 1995 Dr. Henderson was an investigator in or had oversight over dozens of phase I, II, III and IV studies.
- In San Francisco Dr. Henderson founded the Bay Area Breast Cancer Translational Research Program that has received 14 SPORE (Specialized Program of Research Excellence) awards from the National Cancer Institute averaging more than $2M per year since 1992. This research program was designed to hasten the process of getting new treatments from the laboratory bench to the bedside.
- From 1989 - 1992 he was a member (and for most of that time, chairman) of the FDA’s Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee (ODAC), and he has subsequently served as a consultant to the FDA on several occasions.
- As a consultant for various pharmaceutical companies, as a biotechnology company executive, and as a member of various panels Dr. Henderson has developed considerable expertise in assessing medical technologies. He has been a member of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association Medical Advisory Panel for more than 18 years and was recently appointed to the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee (MedCAC). Since 1995 he has been a member of the Cochrane Collaboration on Meta-analyses and chairman of the sub-committee on metastatic breast cancer. From 1997 – 2000 he was a member of the Health Services Research Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Dr. Henderson serves on the Data Monitoring Committees of the Physician’s Health Study and Women’s Health Studies at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard. He was vice-chairman of an Institute of Medicine panel evaluating strategies for the early diagnosis of breast cancer.
- During Dr. Henderson’s tenure as CEO of SEQUUS the FDA approved two drugs, Doxil, a liposomal formulation of doxorubicin, and Amphotec, a lipoid amphotericin B. The company successfully launched these drugs and grew annual sales of Doxil to more than $60 M. SEQUUS raised more than $150 M in two secondary offerings while Dr. Henderson was CEO. A merger with Alza in 1999 was a pooling transaction valued at about five times SEQUUS’ market capitalization at the time Dr. Henderson became CEO.
- Dr. Henderson has published nearly 300 books and papers, made numerous presentations at medical conferences, conducted grand rounds at medical schools and cancer centers throughout the world, been interviewed by a variety of newspapers and magazines, and made multiple appearances on regional and national television, including the Today Show, 60 Minutes, and 20/20. He has served on the editorial boards of numerous journals.
- Dr. Henderson is the recipient of numerous awards and honors from institutions across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh), and his alma mater, Grinnell College, has awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Science.
Dr. Henderson spent the first 25 years of his career conducting clinical and translational research in academia, first at the National Cancer Institute, then for 18 years at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard where he directed the Breast Cancer Program. He moved on to University of California, San Francisco where he was Chief of Medical Oncology and Deputy Director of the Cancer Center. Currently he is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at UCSF and sees breast cancer patients there at the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In 1995 Dr. Henderson became Chairman and CEO of SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals in Menlo Park, California, continuing into a Board and consulting position when SEQUUS was merged with Alza in 1999. In 2000, Dr. Henderson helped to create a new biotechnology company, Access Oncology, Inc. (AOI, becoming CEO and President in 2002. In 2004, AOI was merged with Keryx Biopharmaceuticals and Dr. Henderson continued as President of the combined entity until April of 2008. Between 2004 and 2006 Keryx raised more than $170 M in private placements and secondary offerings.
Highlights of Dr. Henderson’s career include:
- At the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Dr. Henderson developed the breast cancer research program and founded the Breast Evaluation Center, which was one of the first multi-disciplinary breast cancer programs of its type.
- As a university based researcher, Dr. Henderson’s work focused primarily on the treatment of breast cancer. He was the Principal Investigator of a national trial that enrolled over 3,000 women and established the value of paclitaxel as a treatment for early breast cancer. For more than a decade he chaired the Early Breast Cancer Trialists Group (“Oxford Overviews”) that performed meta-analyses that established the value of adjuvant chemotherapy and endocrine therapy in early breast cancer and contributed substantially to the acceptance of these treatments throughout the world. He championed and/or led studies that eventually proved that higher doses of cytotoxic therapy (including studies of high dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow or stem cell support) provided little or no benefit but substantially increased the toxicity of these treatments. In addition, as the head of the breast cancer research program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute from 1974 - 1991 and Chairman of the Breast Committee of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B from 1989 – 1995 Dr. Henderson was an investigator in or had oversight over dozens of phase I, II, III and IV studies.
- In San Francisco Dr. Henderson founded the Bay Area Breast Cancer Translational Research Program that has received 14 SPORE (Specialized Program of Research Excellence) awards from the National Cancer Institute averaging more than $2M per year since 1992. This research program was designed to hasten the process of getting new treatments from the laboratory bench to the bedside.
- From 1989 - 1992 he was a member (and for most of that time, chairman) of the FDA’s Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee (ODAC), and he has subsequently served as a consultant to the FDA on several occasions.
- As a consultant for various pharmaceutical companies, as a biotechnology company executive, and as a member of various panels Dr. Henderson has developed considerable expertise in assessing medical technologies. He has been a member of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association Medical Advisory Panel for more than 18 years and was recently appointed to the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee (MedCAC). Since 1995 he has been a member of the Cochrane Collaboration on Meta-analyses and chairman of the sub-committee on metastatic breast cancer. From 1997 – 2000 he was a member of the Health Services Research Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Dr. Henderson serves on the Data Monitoring Committees of the Physician’s Health Study and Women’s Health Studies at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard. He was vice-chairman of an Institute of Medicine panel evaluating strategies for the early diagnosis of breast cancer.
- During Dr. Henderson’s tenure as CEO of SEQUUS the FDA approved two drugs, Doxil, a liposomal formulation of doxorubicin, and Amphotec, a lipoid amphotericin B. The company successfully launched these drugs and grew annual sales of Doxil to more than $60 M. SEQUUS raised more than $150 M in two secondary offerings while Dr. Henderson was CEO. A merger with Alza in 1999 was a pooling transaction valued at about five times SEQUUS’ market capitalization at the time Dr. Henderson became CEO.
- Dr. Henderson has published nearly 300 books and papers, made numerous presentations at medical conferences, conducted grand rounds at medical schools and cancer centers throughout the world, been interviewed by a variety of newspapers and magazines, and made multiple appearances on regional and national television, including the Today Show, 60 Minutes, and 20/20. He has served on the editorial boards of numerous journals.
- Dr. Henderson is the recipient of numerous awards and honors from institutions across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh), and his alma mater, Grinnell College, has awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Science.
Melinda L. Irwin, PhD, MPH
Yale School of Medicine, New Haven
Melinda L. Irwin, PhD, MPH, associate professor at the Yale School of Medicine, is Director of Yale Cancer Center’s Cancer Survivorship Program, and the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program. more...
Dr. Irwin's primary research interest is in the area of physical activity and cancer prevention and survival. Specifically, her research involves examining the effect of exercise on breast and ovarian cancer prognosis. She is currently the principal investigator of two NCI-funded randomized controlled trials examining the impact of exercise on: (1) side effects of aromatase inhibitors in breast cancer survivors and (2) ovarian cancer prognosis and survivorship. In addition, Dr. Irwin is involved in the Health, Eating, Activity and Lifestyle (HEAL) Study. Dr. Irwin is also a co-investigator on the NCI-funded Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) Study, which focuses on research related to energy balance and cancer risk and prognosis. She has published extensively on related topics in medical journals and book chapters, and has presented her research internationally.
Dr. Irwin has served on various research review committees for the National Cancer Institute, Lance Armstrong Foundation, and the American Cancer Society, as well as on advisory committees to develop consensus statements on physical activity and cancer prognosis. Dr. Irwin also served on a committee convened by the American Cancer Society and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) to develop a certification exam for fitness professionals to be certified to counsel/train men and women living with cancer. She is also editor of “ACSM’s Fitness Professional’s Guide to Exercise and Cancer Survivorship.”
Dr. Irwin has served on various research review committees for the National Cancer Institute, Lance Armstrong Foundation, and the American Cancer Society, as well as on advisory committees to develop consensus statements on physical activity and cancer prognosis. Dr. Irwin also served on a committee convened by the American Cancer Society and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) to develop a certification exam for fitness professionals to be certified to counsel/train men and women living with cancer. She is also editor of “ACSM’s Fitness Professional’s Guide to Exercise and Cancer Survivorship.”
Jennifer Ligibel, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
Jennifer Ligibel, MD, is a medical oncologist in the Women’s Cancer Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, specializing in breast cancer. Dr. Ligibel’s research focuses primarily on the impact of lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and body weight, upon cancer risk and outcomes. more...
She has conducted a number of exercise intervention trials in cancer populations, looking at endpoints such as biomarkers associated with cancer risk and outcomes, fitness, body composition measures, as well as quality of life measures.
Dr. Ligbel received her B.S. from Duke University and her MD from the Washington University School of Medicine. Following her residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, she completed a medical oncology fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she joined the staff in 2001.
Dr. Ligibel’s research has been funded by the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She has recently completed two studies looking at the impact of exercise on breast cancer patients during and after treatment. Her work has demonstrated that exercise can help lower levels of hormones potentially linked to breast cancer development and recurrence. Her ongoing work looks at the potential benefits of exercise in women with advanced breast cancer. Dr. Ligibel led a multi-center study that looked at the ability of telephone counseling to increase exercise levels in patients completing treatment for breast and colon cancer. Outcomes included that participants who received exercise intervention experienced a significant improvement in fitness and an improvement in physical functioning
Dr. Ligibel’s ongoing trials examine the feasibility and benefits of physical activity in women with metastatic breast cancer, and the impact of physical activity upon inflammatory mediators and metabolic hormones in individuals with locally advanced breast cancer. She is also on the Steering Committees of two international trials designed to test the impact of energy balance interventions upon disease outcomes in early stage breast cancer: the Lifestyle Intervention Study for Adjuvant Treatment of Early Breast Cancer (LISA), which evaluates the impact of weight loss upon disease free survival in overweight women with early breast cancer, and the NCIC MA-32 trial, which will test the impact of 5 years of adjuvant metformin versus placebo on disease free survival in early breast cancer.
Dr. Ligibel is a Core Committee Member of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B, a Cancer-Related Fatigue Panel Member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an Education Committee Track Leader and Member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Ligbel received her B.S. from Duke University and her MD from the Washington University School of Medicine. Following her residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, she completed a medical oncology fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she joined the staff in 2001.
Dr. Ligibel’s research has been funded by the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She has recently completed two studies looking at the impact of exercise on breast cancer patients during and after treatment. Her work has demonstrated that exercise can help lower levels of hormones potentially linked to breast cancer development and recurrence. Her ongoing work looks at the potential benefits of exercise in women with advanced breast cancer. Dr. Ligibel led a multi-center study that looked at the ability of telephone counseling to increase exercise levels in patients completing treatment for breast and colon cancer. Outcomes included that participants who received exercise intervention experienced a significant improvement in fitness and an improvement in physical functioning
Dr. Ligibel’s ongoing trials examine the feasibility and benefits of physical activity in women with metastatic breast cancer, and the impact of physical activity upon inflammatory mediators and metabolic hormones in individuals with locally advanced breast cancer. She is also on the Steering Committees of two international trials designed to test the impact of energy balance interventions upon disease outcomes in early stage breast cancer: the Lifestyle Intervention Study for Adjuvant Treatment of Early Breast Cancer (LISA), which evaluates the impact of weight loss upon disease free survival in overweight women with early breast cancer, and the NCIC MA-32 trial, which will test the impact of 5 years of adjuvant metformin versus placebo on disease free survival in early breast cancer.
Dr. Ligibel is a Core Committee Member of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B, a Cancer-Related Fatigue Panel Member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an Education Committee Track Leader and Member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Mitchell Kline, MD
Weill NY-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York
Mitchell Kline, MD is a board certified dermatologist who has been in private practice since 1990. He is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Weill NY-Presbyterian Medical Center, Cornell University Medical College.
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He received his college and medical degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. His post-graduate training in dermatology includes the Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell Medical Center, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Dr. Kline is a lecturer on skin cancer for the American Cancer Society and has been involved in numerous research efforts on melanoma and other skin cancers. He has many professional affiliations, including with the Melanoma Research Alliance, New York Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society of Medicine. Dr. Kline is a Board Member of Healthright International, on the Board of Associates of the Whitehead Institute of MIT, a member of the Leaders Circle and Vice Chair of the Dermatology Foundation, as well as a Board Member of the Children’s Orchestra Society. His strong sense of service to the community and world-wide has also led Dr. Kline to a position on the Board of Directors of an International Healthcare NGO, Doctors of the World (see www.DoctorsOfTheWorld.org).
Dr. Kline is a lecturer on skin cancer for the American Cancer Society and has been involved in numerous research efforts on melanoma and other skin cancers. He has many professional affiliations, including with the Melanoma Research Alliance, New York Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society of Medicine. Dr. Kline is a Board Member of Healthright International, on the Board of Associates of the Whitehead Institute of MIT, a member of the Leaders Circle and Vice Chair of the Dermatology Foundation, as well as a Board Member of the Children’s Orchestra Society. His strong sense of service to the community and world-wide has also led Dr. Kline to a position on the Board of Directors of an International Healthcare NGO, Doctors of the World (see www.DoctorsOfTheWorld.org).
Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle
Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD is a Faculty Member in the Division of Public Health Sciences and Director of the Prevention Center at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle Washington and is a Research Professor in the University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Public Health and Community Medicine. more...
Dr. McTiernan’s research focuses on identifying ways to prevent new or recurrent breast cancer and colorectal cancer especially with physical activity, obesity prevention, and chemoprevention. She is Principal Investigator of several clinical trial and cohort studies investigating the associations among exercise, diet, body weight, hormones, chemoprevention agents, and risk for cancer incidence and prognosis. She is Principal Investigator of the Seattle Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) program that includes over 25 scientists conducting research on mechanisms linking obesity and sedentariness with cancer, and on obesity prevention.
Dr. McTiernan is an elected Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine, the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, and the American College of Epidemiology. Dr. McTiernan has published widely in major medical journals and is lead author of the book, Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer, St. Martin’s Press, 2000 and Editor, Cancer Prevention and Management Through Exercise and Weight Control (CRC Press LLL, 2005). She has served on several national and international health advisory boards and working groups including the International Agency for Research on Cancer's Cancer Prevention Handbooks of Cancer Prevention Vol. 6: Weight Control and Physical Activity, the American Cancer Society Guidelines for Nutrition and Physical Activity and Prevention of Cancer, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee.
Dr. McTiernan is an elected Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine, the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, and the American College of Epidemiology. Dr. McTiernan has published widely in major medical journals and is lead author of the book, Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer, St. Martin’s Press, 2000 and Editor, Cancer Prevention and Management Through Exercise and Weight Control (CRC Press LLL, 2005). She has served on several national and international health advisory boards and working groups including the International Agency for Research on Cancer's Cancer Prevention Handbooks of Cancer Prevention Vol. 6: Weight Control and Physical Activity, the American Cancer Society Guidelines for Nutrition and Physical Activity and Prevention of Cancer, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee.
Anil Rustgi, MD
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Anil K. Rustgi, M.D., is Chief, Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He graduated summa cum laude with departmental honors in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University. more...
He attended Duke University Medical School where he won the Trent Prize and the Davison Scholarship, and was elected into Alpha Omega Alpha. Dr. Rustgi completed his medical internship and residency at Beth Israel Hospital of Harvard University, where he served also as one of the Chief Medical Residents. He then completed his Gastroenterology Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) of Harvard Medical School.
He is past Chair of GI Oncology and Chair of the Education & Training Committee within the American Gastroenterology Association and currently on its Governing Board. He also contributes to other organizations such as the American Association for Cancer Research, the National Colon Cancer Research Alliance, and Caring for Carcinoid Foundation. He is the Editor of the textbook, Gastrointestinal Cancers. In June, 2006, he assumed the Editorship for Gastroenterology, the leading journal of the field.
He is past Chair of GI Oncology and Chair of the Education & Training Committee within the American Gastroenterology Association and currently on its Governing Board. He also contributes to other organizations such as the American Association for Cancer Research, the National Colon Cancer Research Alliance, and Caring for Carcinoid Foundation. He is the Editor of the textbook, Gastrointestinal Cancers. In June, 2006, he assumed the Editorship for Gastroenterology, the leading journal of the field.
Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, FACSM
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, FACSM is an associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics and
Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Her unique crossdisciplinary training in epidemiology
and exercise physiology has resulted more...
in a research career that spans
from investigations of molecular level physiologic effects of exercise to examinations of best ways to
disseminate efficacious exercise interventions in clinical and community settings.
Dr. Schmitz serves on the expert panel for the YMCA/Lance Armstrong Foundation Cancer Survivorship
Collaborative, wrote the cancer survivorship section of the recently published U.S. DHHS report of the
Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, served on the ad hoc committee that developed the
ACSM Cancer Exercise Trainer certification, and is the lead author of the ACSM Roundtable on Exercise
for Cancer Survivors, which published guidance for exercise testing and prescription for cancer survivors
in July 2010. In 2010, the National Lymphedema Network awarded Dr. Schmitz the Catalyst Award, for
being a researcher whose work has stimulated thought, discussion, and debate that leads to
improvement in patient care for those with lymphedema. Dr. Schmitz' long term professional goal is to
see that all oncologists, fitness trainers, and cancer patients will eventually be as cognizant of the
usefulness of exercise for cancer control as we already are for its role in controlling heart disease.
Dr. Schmitz serves on the expert panel for the YMCA/Lance Armstrong Foundation Cancer Survivorship Collaborative, wrote the cancer survivorship section of the recently published U.S. DHHS report of the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, served on the ad hoc committee that developed the ACSM Cancer Exercise Trainer certification, and is the lead author of the ACSM Roundtable on Exercise for Cancer Survivors, which published guidance for exercise testing and prescription for cancer survivors in July 2010. In 2010, the National Lymphedema Network awarded Dr. Schmitz the Catalyst Award, for being a researcher whose work has stimulated thought, discussion, and debate that leads to improvement in patient care for those with lymphedema. Dr. Schmitz' long term professional goal is to see that all oncologists, fitness trainers, and cancer patients will eventually be as cognizant of the usefulness of exercise for cancer control as we already are for its role in controlling heart disease.
Donna Wilson, MSN, CNS
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York
Donna Wilson has worked as a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and personal trainer with the Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering since September 2000. more...
She studied at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute of Health Professions, receiving an MSN in 1991. Additionally, Donna was certified as a Personal Trainer by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America in May 2000.
Donna worked at MGH for 17 years as a CNS in the ICU unit and coordinator of the respiratory care consultation service and lung transplant program. In 1992, she joined the nursing staff at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a pulmonary/thoracic CNS. She has created breathing lung exercise videos on YouTube for lung cancer patients. Currently Donna sets up exercises programs for all types of patients going through cancer treatments, including chair aerobics, strong bones, back-in-shape aerobics class, and personal training. Her goals are to rebuild strength, restore flexibility, achieve better balance, and decrease fatigue and breathlessness in all patients. Donna believes in collaboration with all services to give quality care to each patient.
In January 2009 Donna organized the first women’s cancer survivor Dragon Boat Team. Sponsored by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the team has joined a worldwide network of 140 women’s breast cancer teams to promote dragon boat racing as a part of a healthy lifestyle, as an innovative and unique support for survivors and as a mechanism to raise funds for cancer research and survivorship programs.
Donna worked at MGH for 17 years as a CNS in the ICU unit and coordinator of the respiratory care consultation service and lung transplant program. In 1992, she joined the nursing staff at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a pulmonary/thoracic CNS. She has created breathing lung exercise videos on YouTube for lung cancer patients. Currently Donna sets up exercises programs for all types of patients going through cancer treatments, including chair aerobics, strong bones, back-in-shape aerobics class, and personal training. Her goals are to rebuild strength, restore flexibility, achieve better balance, and decrease fatigue and breathlessness in all patients. Donna believes in collaboration with all services to give quality care to each patient.
In January 2009 Donna organized the first women’s cancer survivor Dragon Boat Team. Sponsored by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the team has joined a worldwide network of 140 women’s breast cancer teams to promote dragon boat racing as a part of a healthy lifestyle, as an innovative and unique support for survivors and as a mechanism to raise funds for cancer research and survivorship programs.
Eric Winer, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
Eric P. Winer, M.D., serves as the director of the Breast Oncology Center and the Thompson Senior Investigator in Breast Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. more...
He is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Winer is chief scientific advisor for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, advising the organization on its grants strategy and public policy efforts. He leads a small group of top-level scientific and medical advisors, Komen's Scientific Advisory Board, which guides Komen in scientific matters. Dr. Winer is also an advisory board member of the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation. He received his MD from Yale University in 1983.
“As a clinician I recognize the importance of a regular exercise program for the recovery and long-term survival for breast cancer patients, and improving overall health and quality of life. There is a growing body of evidence that exercise can assist in reducing recurrence and mortality from breast cancer, as well as for other cancers. I support the efforts of Sunflower Wellness to provide exercise education, guidance and fitness programs to cancer survivors.”
“As a clinician I recognize the importance of a regular exercise program for the recovery and long-term survival for breast cancer patients, and improving overall health and quality of life. There is a growing body of evidence that exercise can assist in reducing recurrence and mortality from breast cancer, as well as for other cancers. I support the efforts of Sunflower Wellness to provide exercise education, guidance and fitness programs to cancer survivors.”