MCC names new Survivorship Program director
After a cancer diagnosis there is often a lifelong change to health and lifestyle that have long term consequences for a cancer survivor, their families, and loved ones. At the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, we’re committed to providing valuable research, resources, and information into cancer survivorship—from the point of diagnosis to far beyond.
There are more than 18 million cancer survivors in the U.S. and more than 32 million cancer survivors worldwide, each navigating the various impacts of their cancer treatments. MCC’s survivorship research focuses on the impact of treatment on patient quality of life after any and all types of cancer therapy.
At MCC, we’re continuing to prioritize survivorship research by appointing Lucie Turcotte, MD, MPH, MS, as the next director of the Cancer Survivorship Services and Translational Research program. Dr. Turcotte, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist and associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics, UMN Medical School, assumes the role previously held by Anne Blaes, MD. Dr. Blaes was the inaugural director of this program, and she will continue to support survivorship programming and research in her ongoing role as co-director of MCC’s Screening, Prevention, Etiology, and Cancer Survivorship (SPECS) Program, associate professor in the UMN Medical School, and as a practicing oncologist.
Cancer survivors may face complications long after cancer, including cardiac issues, chronic illnesses, accelerated aging, weight fluctuations, and secondary cancers. Dr. Turcotte is working to improve our response to these challenges, with research focused on secondary cancers for childhood cancer survivors, and short and long-term outcomes in pediatric cancer and bone marrow transplant survivors.
“I am honored to be a part of the University of Minnesota legacy in cancer survivorship research and clinical care,” said Turcotte. “We have made incredible progress in improving the lives of people living with and surviving cancer. I see so many opportunities for innovation in personalizing survivorship care through our research and for improving the way we deliver care to our growing population of cancer survivors in Minnesota.”
Dr. Turcotte received her MPH in Maternal and Child Health from the UMN School of Public Health in 2005, her medical degree from the UMN Medical School in 2007, and her MS in Clinical Research from the UMN School of Public Health in 2015. She completed her residency in Pediatrics in 2010 at Seattle Children's Hospital (University of Washington) in Seattle, WA, and completed her fellowship in Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Bone Marrow Transplant in 2013 at the UMN Masonic Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Turcotte leads the Second Malignancy Working Group within the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study and is the Chair for the Subsequent Malignant Neoplasm and Cancer Screening Task Force for the Children’s Oncology Group Long-Term Follow-Up Guidelines. She has received institutional, foundation, and federal funding to investigate novel topics in cancer survivorship with the overarching goal of enhancing the quantity and quality of life among survivors.