In my more than 35 years as an infectious disease specialist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, I have helped to diagnose and treat bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infections in thousands of patients with cancer.
Infections are common and often serious in people being treated for cancer because the agents used to target the cancer cells — chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation, other therapies — also damage healthy cells and weaken the immune system overall. I also diagnose and treat naturally occurring disruptions of the immune system such as those that occur with HIV infections.
In addition to seeing patients, I have been involved in researching new methods of preventing and treating the infectious complications of cancer and the immunocompromised host.
As Chief and Medical Director of the Employee Health and Wellness Service, I am also responsible for maintaining the health and safety of our more than 15,000 employees and non-employees by making sure that they are compliant with all regulatory requirements. By doing this, employees will be assuring their own safety as well as that of our patients and visitors.
