Walter Lawrence Jr.

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Walter Lawrence Jr.
Born(1925-05-31)May 31, 1925
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedNovember 9, 2021(2021-11-09) (aged 96)
Other namesWalter M. Lawrence Jr.
OccupationSurgical oncologist
Known forFounding father of the discipline Surgical oncology
Academic background
EducationPh.B., S.B., M.D., University of Chicago
USN training, Dartmouth College
Internship and residency, Johns Hopkins Hospital
Residency, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Walter Lawrence Jr. (May 31, 1925 – November 9, 2021) was an American surgical oncologist at Memorial-Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Cornell Medical College, and at the Medical College of Virginia. He was a leader in civil rights health equity efforts.

Early life and education[edit]

Born on May 31, 1925, in Chicago, Illinois,[1] Walter M. Lawrence Jr., was the son of Walter Lawrence, a primary care physician,[2] and Violette (née Mathews) Lawrence.[3] He attended Oak Park and River Forest High School and the University of Chicago, earning a Ph.B. in 1943, and an S.B. degree in 1945.[4] He also attended Dartmouth College training[5] and served in a non-combat role in the United States Navy during World War II from 1943 to 1946.[4]

Lawrence wed Susan Grayson Shryock in Winchester, Virginia, on June 20, 1947.[6] He earned his M.D. at the University of Chicago, with his dissertation, Constrictive Pericarditis with Obstruction of Pulmonary Veins, in 1948.[7] He had surgical training residencies at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,[8] then served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Korea as Chief of Surgery of a MASH hospital from 1952 to 1954.[4]

Career[edit]

From 1956 to 1996, Lawrence conducted both clinical and research activity at Memorial-Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of Cornell Medical College.[8]

...Walter personally mentored many Black surgical oncologists, fighting the good fight to diversify our workforce, which back then was much more homogeneous than it is today...
Living in the former capital of the Confederacy, Walter witnessed racism on a daily basis.
When the Southern Surgical Association declined to admit his friend Dr. LaSalle Leffall, because he was Black, and the American Medical Association refused to intervene on Leffall's behalf, Walter resigned from both groups. Instead, he became a member of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons.[5]

—Robert A. Winn and Gordon D. Ginder

Focus on issues of medical equity[edit]

Robert Winn wrote, "The real mark Dr. Lawrence leaves behind is his mission to help those less fortunate than us and to ensure that some do not bear the burden of health and cancer burden. And he never rested on this mission. Until last year, he was using his platform to speak on behalf of the least heard voices, ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, world-class healthcare."[2]

Harry D. Bear wrote, "...he may be the only person admitted to the membership of the Southern Surgical Society twice. He resigned from this group when they would not admit an African American candidate; he was later re-admitted to the Southern after that black candidate had achieved membership some years later. This is a typical example of his sense of what is right. That is just one area where he has been a valued source of advice over the years."[8]

Academic positions[edit]

In 1966, Lawrence became Vice-Chair of Surgery and Chair of the first academic Division of Surgical Oncology in the United States at the Medical College of Virginia. There he was also appointed Director of the NCI-accredited Massey Cancer Center, Medical College of Virginia, at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) campus from 1974 to 1990.[2][9][10] He served on the VCU School of Medicine Admissions Committee where his primary focus was also on medical school teaching. Later, the teaching portion of his career consisted entirely of medical student teaching at Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center.[11]

Selected publications[edit]

According to Bear, "Lawrence's bibliography includes more than 260 papers on a wide variety of topics, as well as half a dozen books, and 35 book chapters."[8]

Books[edit]

  • Lawrence Jr., W.; Neifeld, J. P.; Terz, J. J. (December 6, 2012). Manual of Soft-Tissue Tumor Surgery. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4612-5556-7.

Articles[edit]

Awards and honors[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Walter Lawrence in the Cook County, Illinois Birth Index, 1916-1935". www.ancestry.com. May 31, 1925. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Center, Blake BeldenVCU Massey Cancer. "In memoriam: Walter Lawrence Jr., founding director of Massey Cancer Center". VCU News. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  3. ^ "1930 United States Federal Census for Walter M Lawrence". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d "Dr. Walter Lawrence Jr. Obituary (1925 - 2021) Richmond Times-Dispatch". Legacy.com. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Winn, Robert A.; Ginder, Gordon D. (November 12, 2021). "Walter Lawrence, cancer surgeon and civil rights hero, dies at 96". The Cancer Letter. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1936-2014 for Walter Lawrence". www.ancestry.com. June 20, 1947. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  7. ^ Lawrence, Walter Jr (1948). Constrictive pericarditis with obstruction of pulmonary veins (Thesis). OCLC 83934259.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bear, Harry D. (2005). "Walter Lawrence Jr.: A tribute to a surgical oncologist. 'Been there, done that'". Journal of Surgical Oncology. 90 (3): 109–112. doi:10.1002/jso.20212. ISSN 1096-9098. PMID 15895456. S2CID 44737880 – via Wiley.
  9. ^ "Avoiding Amputation In Cancer Is Evaluated". The New York Times. December 8, 1984. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  10. ^ Winn, Robert A. "Winn statement on the passing of Walter Lawrence Jr., M.D". www.masseycancercenter.org. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  11. ^ Steele, Glenn D. (July 1, 2002). "Honoring Walter Lawrence Jr., MD: Society of surgical oncology president 1979–80". Annals of Surgical Oncology. 9 (6): 519–523. doi:10.1007/BF02573883. ISSN 1534-4681. PMID 12095963. S2CID 195242792.
  12. ^ "Receives Sloan Cancer Study Award in N.Y." Chicago Tribune. March 19, 1964. p. 143. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  13. ^ "CANCER OUTLOOK HEARTENS SLOAN; Foundation Head Optimistic Problem Can Be Solved". The New York Times. March 11, 1964. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  14. ^ "Two in state named to new professorships". The Bee. November 8, 1971. p. 16. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  15. ^ Journal of the National Cancer Institute: JNCI. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health. November 1999.

External links[edit]

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