SSO President Calls for Special Training Programs in Surgical Oncology

BOSTON--"Our members must stand up as champions of specialtraining in surgical oncology," Society of Surgical Oncology(SSO) president Bernard Gardner, MD, said at the Society's AnnualCancer Symposium. "We must continue to nourish this societybecause we provide something unique."

Dr. Gardner is professor of surgery and director of surgical educationat the New Jersey Medical School, Newark.

In an inspirational speech, Dr. Gardner strongly advocated specialtraining programs in surgical oncology. Experienced surgeons specificallytrained to manage cancer-related problems will lead to an improvementin cancer care, he believes. He also called for an increased levelof funding for surgical oncology research as part of trainingprograms. "We must continue to search for new ways to treatcancer," he said.

Dr. Gardner urged surgical oncologists to avoid being intimidatedby the government's efforts to modify aggressive approaches tothe treatment of cancer, and not to allow the government to preventthe early referral of patients with cancer.

The government's attitude does not reflect the complexity of surgicaloperations for cancer, he argued. He also admonished societalattitudes of passivity toward the treatment of cancer, especiallyin the elderly.