Topic: On Veterans Day 2019, we hosted this special MTME installment to learn more about the mesothelioma program at the VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas.
The discussion was hosted by Mary Hesdorffer, NP, executive director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, and featured Dr. R. Taylor Ripley, Dr. Lorraine Cornwell and Dr. Eugene Choi.
About the Speakers:
Dr. R. Taylor Ripley
Board-certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, R. Taylor Ripley, MD, serves as the Director of the Mesothelioma Treatment Center at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center. He joined the Lung Institute and Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor St. Luke’s as a dedicated mesothelioma expert, complementing the established multidisciplinary team. In addition to mesothelioma, Dr. Ripley specializes in thoracic surgical oncology including lung, thymic, chest wall and esophageal cancers. He is an expert in robotic thoracic surgery and approaches most diseases minimally-invasively.
Dr. Lorraine Cornwell
At the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Dr. Lorraine Cornwell and the Cardiothoracic Surgery team provide state-of-the-art thoracic oncologic and cardiac surgical services to US military veterans.
Dr. Cornwell specializes in surgical care for thoracic oncology patients, including those with lung cancer, esophageal cancer, thymoma, and other rare cancers such as mediastinal tumors and mesothelioma. She specializes in minimally invasive operations, such as Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic (VATS) lobectomy, and also uses the DaVinci robot for selected thoracic operations. She also frequently treats patients with benign conditions of the chest, such as infections, achalasia, hiatal hernia, esophageal stricture, gastroesophageal reflux, or esophageal motility disorders.
Dr. Eugene A. Choi
Eugene A. Choi, M.D., is a board-certified surgical oncologist specializing in the management of gastrointestinal cancer, sarcoma, including gastrointestinal tumors (GIST), melanoma, and peritoneal surface malignancies.
As a member of a multidisciplinary cancer care team, Dr. Choi works closely with other skilled specialists from medical and radiation oncology to offer the most complete care possible.
His research interests include the signaling mechanisms of colorectal and pancreatic cancer metastasis, and development of novel drug therapies.
