Healing Vanguard

Jan. 11, 2015

Oncologists on the front lines in Northern Michigan

Three regional oncologists are leading the charge to battle cancer in their communities. Whether working to open the region’s first cancer center, exploring alternative therapies to relieve cancer’s debilitating side effects or being motivated by a child’s illness to make a difference in the lives of others, these physicians are leaving their mark on northern Michigan healthcare.

Dr. David Gordon, M.D.

Affiliation: Munson Healthcare

In 2016, the $45 million Cowell Family Cancer Center is expected to open on the campus of Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. The state-of-the-art facility will provide a multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment, coordinating disparate oncology services under one roof to provide a one-stop shop for cancer patients in northern Michigan.

For Dr. David Gordon, medical director of cancer services for Munson Healthcare, working as part of the team bringing the Center to life is the latest chapter in an accomplished career dedicated to oncology and internal medicine. After studying at Princeton University and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Gordon completed a residency and fellowship at Stanford University. He then worked as a research fellow under Nobel laureate Sir Peter Medawar in the U.K. before taking a position with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the late 1970s.

While working as Director of Immunology at the CDC, Gordon encountered reports of opportunistic infections in gay men – what would turn out to be the beginning of the HIV epidemic in the U.S.

"Two young officers about my age at the CDC were sent to LA to investigate three reported cases of a disease called Pneumocystis, a form of pneumonia," recalls Gordon.

"They came back and nobody had any idea what was causing this. The immune system was falling apart...we didn’t know why. I remember thinking, "˜This could be a really big deal. This is something new.’" As the CDC continued to investigate the outbreak, Gordon ran the organization’s lab until he made a switch to the academic world. He remained in Atlanta, becoming professor of medicine of hematology/oncology at Emory University School of Medicine.

Gordon also made his mark in the forprofit sector, founding biotech companies Hycor Biomedical and Mitratech. All the while, he was making summer visits to northern Michigan with his wife Penelope who had grown up visiting Glen Arbor. Those trips would eventually serve as a siren song luring them to the region.

"I wasn’t happy with what I was doing [in the for-profit sector]...and I wanted to get back to doing clinical care," Gordon explains. "Traverse City was the most interesting option."

In 2002, the couple officially took the plunge. Gordon developed a clinical oncology practice in Traverse City and, shortly thereafter, he and other cancer physicians began a nearly decade-long conversation with Munson about establishing a community cancer center. The medical oncologists entered into a professional services agreement with Munson in 2012 and are now integrating into the hospital’s system.

For Gordon, the opening of the Cowell Family Cancer Center promises to be both a rewarding next career phase and an opportunity to revolutionize cancer treatment in northern Michigan.

"We’ve had excellent care available, but the system hasn’t been well organized," says Gordon. "The driving force behind this is making it easier for patients to access all the services and care they need in one facility... rather than driving back-and-forth or leaving the area. From the time a patient is told they have a malignant disease, through therapy and treatment, and into survivorship, we want to make that journey easier and better."

Dr. Lisa Galloway, D.O.

Affiliation: McLaren Northern Michigan

Dr. Lisa Galloway had degrees in graphic design and art therapy, and was working as an art therapist in southern California, when her daughter Rayden began bouncing from doctor to doctor, presenting with a mysterious illness that baffled every physician she saw.

"She was misdiagnosed for a number of years," says Galloway. "No one could figure out what was going on with her."

Frustrated by the lack of answers and needing a way to cover the mounting medical bills, Galloway decided to go back to school – this time for medicine – at Western University of Health Services in Pomona, California. The move would be a pivotal one for both Galloway and her daughter.

"I was the one who recognized she had a genetic problem," says Galloway. "I was a second-year medical student sitting in a pediatric lecture on genetics and listening to the professor...when something clicked. The doctors had never offered genetic testing. I had to request it and pay for it myself."

The tests came back positive for a genetic  disorder. Rayden had Fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition that causes developmental delays and cognitive impairment. Galloway says the process of becoming a physician not only lead to Rayden’s diagnosis, but it made Galloway a better advocate for her daughter, as well as for other patients trying to navigate the healthcare system.

"One doctor told me [Rayden] was a human waste product," recalls Galloway. "Another told me if I’d just stayed home and cared for her, she would be well. I was pretty angry with the medical establishment. Before I became a doctor, I didn’t feel like anyone was listening to me."

The ordeal "absolutely changed the way I look at my patients," Galloway says. "It was wrong the way [we] were treated. It shouldn’t matter who you are or what you know or where you come from. I don’t care if a patient is homeless or with a major company. I’m going to give them the same level of care."

Family continues to be an important influence on Galloway’s career. She met her husband Randy while they were both in medical school and they served together in the U.S. Air Force. After relocating to Randy’s childhood region – he grew up in Traverse City – the couple began working together at McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey, where Randy serves as an emergency room physician when not on active duty.

Galloway’s artistic background also intersects with her work. The oncologist has painted three of her cancer patients in recent years; two of those paintings were gifted to the families after the patients had passed away.

These different elements of her background – her art, her family and her osteopathic medical training – have helped shape Galloway’s belief in seeing patients not just as a set of symptoms or diseases, but as fully-formed individuals.

"It’s about seeing everything as connected," Galloway explains. "It’s about taking the time...and really looking at the whole person."

Dr. Andrew Riddle, D.O.

Affiliation: Charlevoix Area Hospital, Munson Healthcare

It can be easy to gloss over the initials following a medical professional’s name: M.D., D.O. – what’s the difference?

"That’s a question I often try to answer myself," chuckles Dr. Andrew Riddle, an oncologist with Charlevoix Area Hospital and Munson Healthcare. "One thing we as D.O.s like to do is spend time getting to know the patient as a person. It’s built into our training. It’s a holistic approach to people that looks at treatment in terms of body, mind and spirit."

While M.D.s (doctors of medicine) and D.O.s (doctors of osteopathic medicine) have similar training and educational requirements, and are both fully licensed to practice medicine, M.D.s focus on diagnosing and treating diseases, which is called allopathic medicine. D.O.s focus on a wider view of medicine, called osteopathy, which takes the whole patient into account when considering a diagnosis. Osteopathy also prioritizes preventative care.

When it comes to oncology, Riddle explains that it’s "ingrained" in osteopathy that a "healthy, functioning body will do better in fighting cancer and tolerating treatments" than one that’s out of shape or unwell.

In addition to knowing his patients on a personal basis to ensure he understands their individual history and health profile, Riddle encourages physical fitness and exercise for all his cancer patients as part of their treatment strategy.

Riddle is also a strong believer in utilizing alternative practices to combat side effects of the disease and its treatments.

"Acupuncture, yoga, medical massage... these can alleviate side effects like nausea and hot flashes and support the physiology of the patient," he explains.

Riddle emphasizes that such programs do not replace traditional treatment methods. "We still follow standard protocols [for cancer therapy]," he says, but he believes they are complementary to such treatment. "They can be effective as medication when it comes to relieving side effects," says Riddle.

Riddle – who graduated from Michigan State University and completed his residency at Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital and his fellowship at McLaren Greater Lansing – is part of a rapidly growing industry of osteopathic practitioners across the country. While first-year students matriculating into D.O. programs in 2013 was 24 percent compared to 76 percent for M.D. first-year matriculation, enrollment in D.O. programs overall has increased 117 percent since 2002, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

This means oncology patients could eventually see more D.O.s practicing in northern Michigan, as well as more osteopathic treatment methods. Riddle says Munson’s Cowell Family Cancer Center will offer medical massage and yoga on site, so that patients can access those amenities directly as part of their treatment plan. Acupuncture can also be arranged offsite.

Important breakthroughs in cancer treatments are also coming from the osteopathic philosophy of looking at the entire body – its systems, weaknesses and defenses – to determine how it responds to, or fights, disease.

"We’re moving into an area [of oncology] now of supporting the immune system," says Riddle. "It goes with my philosophy of supporting the body, supporting the person...so they can handle the treatment."