Call 314-ANTHONY or 800-554-9550 for
Cancer Care Services
Physician Profile
Eddy C. Hsueh, M.D.
Eric J. Sutphen, M.D.
Gregory J. Bailey, M.D., Ph.D.
Michael Gu, M.D.
Peter Fonseca, M.D., Ph.D., FACS
R. William Morris, M.D., M.B.A.
William J. Moriconi, M.D.
Advancing outcomes for cancer patients was Dr. Hsueh’s goal when he chose to specialize in surgical oncology.
“Everybody goes to medical school with the idea of helping people. It may sound corny, but we all have the same idea,” he said. “When I was going through medical school I found surgery seemed to fit my personality. During my residency I got to see cancer patients and I was fascinated to begin thinking of cancer as a disease that we could cure. I wanted to know more about it.”
The surgical oncologist is one player on a team that includes the medical oncologist and radiation oncologist. “They come together to deliver superb care for patients,” Dr. Hsueh said. “The surgical oncologist approaches a cancer operation with the patient’s overall treatment in mind. We also consider whether the patient should undergo chemotherapy, radiation therapy or some other multi-modality. If the patient will be a candidate for chemotherapy or radiation, that modifies our perspective in taking out any kind of cancer.”
Improved pre-operative and post-operative care have contributed greatly to improving outcomes for cancer patients, he said. As an example, he cited the Whipple procedure that was developed for treatment of pancreatic cancer in the 1930s but was all but abandoned in the 1970s.
“Years ago the mortality rate following the Whipple procedure was prohibitive,” said Dr. Hsueh. “Then our medical care improved, so we are able to give sick patients better care. The mortality rate for the Whipple dropped to 10 or even 5 percent, and lately there are reports of zero percent mortality from this surgery.
“New surgical procedures and advances in chemotherapy and radiation therapy allow us to resect cancers that we would not have considered resecting before. The idea now is that if we can reduce the tumor burden down to as minimal a level as possible, the patient will do well with our better ability to provide care for the patient after surgery.” Dr. Hsueh is chief of the division of general surgery at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He maintains a research laboratory there that studies the body’s immune responses to melanoma and potential immunotherapies for skin cancers. “I have been humbled by cancer, but we have definitely made improvements,” he said. “There is a need for surgical oncology services in the community served by St. Anthony’s, so we should reach out and make our services convenient for them.”
For information, please call our Health Access Line at 314-ANTHONY (268-4669) or 800-554-9550 or visit our find a physician online.
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