A Doctor’s Legacy

M. D. Anderson’s Suspicion of Cancer Clinic combines compassion, extensive knowledge and state-of-the-art technology to evaluate new patients whose symptoms strongly suggest the presence of cancer—such as an unidentified mass or abnormality revealed via CT scan or X-ray—but offer no clear diagnosis. The clinic is the legacy of Mary Ann Weiser, M.D., Ph.D., who led its development before she died of metastatic colon cancer in 2006. 

“Patients with complex symptoms suspicious for cancer are very difficult to evaluate and manage,” says Robert F. Gagel, M.D., who heads M. D. Anderson’s Division of Internal Medicine. “Mary Ann had a unique set of skills—intellect, experience and an analytic mind fostered by her engineering background—that made it possible for her to evaluate these patients, and she single-handedly set out to establish a program to help them.”
 
On behalf of family and friends, Dr. Weiser’s daughters, Lauren and Julia, recently pledged $150,000 to create the Mary Ann Weiser Endowment for General Internal Medicine. Endowment earnings will support the Suspicion of Cancer Program and other initiatives in general internal medicine, emergency care and ambulatory treatment that focus on internal medicine care of cancer patients. In recognition of the gift, the Suspicion of Cancer Clinic is being named in Dr. Weiser’s honor.

“The main inspiration for the endowment was the courage, selflessness and devotion that Mom showed, both in her personal fight against cancer and in treating her patients at M. D. Anderson,” says Lauren Weiser, a first-year law student at The University of Texas at Austin. “We couldn’t think of a better way to continue her legacy.”

On June 11, 2007, more than 100 physicians, family members and friends attended a tribute honoring Dr. Weiser. An M. D. Anderson internist for more than a dozen years, she improved outcomes for cancer patients with diabetes, heart disease and other medical conditions which can be aggravated by cancer or its treatment. An insightful scientist, she discovered that cancer patients with hyperglycemia had more relapses than other patients and turned her findings into a major, multidisciplinary research program.

“Mary Ann was a spectacular clinician, a mentor for junior faculty, and a valued sounding board for program development,” says Carmen Escalante, M.D., a longtime friend and colleague who chairs the Department of General Internal Medicine, Ambulatory Treatment and Emergency Care. “Patients loved her. She made an impact on them and their families and took very good care of all of them.”

In 2003, Dr. Weiser was honored with The University Cancer Foundation Faculty Achievement Award in Patient Care. “Only one faculty receives that award every year,” says Dr. Escalante, “and the fact that it went to an internist in a cancer institution reaffirms Mary Ann’s significant abilities in patient care and the great value and respect with which other people regarded her hard work and dedication.”

Dr. Weiser’s impact is felt still in the Suspicion of Cancer Clinic, where the diagnosis process is streamlined and patients gain access to M. D. Anderson’s unique multidisciplinary approach to cancer care.