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The following feature story appeared in the campus publication Mosaic in February, 1996.
Arlene Forastiere '71
A doctor's quest to improve patients' lives
Modern surgical techniques are often quite effective in treating patients with cancers of the head, neck and esophagus but the impact of surgery can be physically and psychologically devastating. The removal of tumors is often physically disfiguring and can make it difficult or impossible for survivors to speak or to swallow.
Dr. Arlene Forastiere '71, associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, is in the forefront of efforts to develop new and effective non-surgical treatments to preserve the larynx, the tongue, and the outward appearance of the head and neck, usually by developing new therapies combining radiation and chemotherapy.
"We're working with people who could be cured with surgery," she said. "But then they'd be left for the rest of their lives with dysfunction. The goal is to treat them effectively and curatively, but to maintain their function and quality of life. At Hopkins, this involves developing carefully balanced courses of radiation and chemotherapy to reduce the scope of surgery.
"Some people can achieve very good speech and communication using prosthetic devices after surgery, but many can't," Forastiere said. "There's a real tendency for impaired patients to withdraw from society and even their families," she said. "Eating and talking are great pleasures in life for most people. If you take those away, a person can become a recluse."
The Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, where Forastiere has worked for the past eight years, attracts patients from all over the world. She now directs the center's team working on esophageal cancer, which includes surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, psychologists, speech pathologists, and nutritionists. Its treatment results are among the best in the nation.
Forastiere has earned a national reputation as an authority on cancer research. She participates, for example, in the National Cancer Institute trial groups that coordinate national and international testing of treatments and protocols. She is also serving a five-year term on the federal Food and Drug Administration advisory panel that makes recommendations about new cancer-fighting drugs.
Her busy daily routine focuses on treating patients and teaching residents and other specialists in oncology. "I'm an academic doctor, but I don't have a laboratory. My research involves working with patients, which is what I really like to do." Forastiere's research is especially urgent because of recent and as yet unexplained increases in the rates of one form of esophageal cancer in the United States, Great Britain and Scandinavia, especially among white males in their 50s and 60s.
She credits her undergraduate work as a chemistry major for steering her toward medical school at Johns Hopkins and a career in academic medicine. One of Trinity's first group of female undergraduates, Forastiere transferred to the College in 1969 from Skidmore College, which could not provide the science programs she sought. "I loved my time at Trinity. Jim Heeren in the chemistry department became my mentor. He was a simply wonderful teacher."
Many of Forastiere's best classroom memories of Trinity do not, however, come from science courses. "Studying history with George Cooper was a real highlight for me and I still treasure the classics courses that I took. Trinity really offers something special to science majors-its humanities classes. Those who want to be doctors should really savor the opportunity to learn about history, literature and the classics. They'll get all the science they need in medical school."
Forastiere has maintained a close connection to Trinity, serving as secretary of her class in the 1970s and as an Alumni Trustee from 1985 to 1991. "It was a very interesting and challenging experience," she said. "Trinity faces stiff competition, but it's a strong institution. The faculty is simply superb and I am impressed by the strength of the volunteer leadership."
- Andrew Walsh