"Treating the patient as well as the cancer"

Finneran Family Prize recognizes leadership and innovation

BY Allison Ignacio

Christopher Logothetis, M.D., receives the inaugural Finneran Family Prize from Ethan Dmitrovsky, M.D.

For Bill Finneran, MD Anderson represents one thing: family.

“It doesn’t feel like a hospital,” he says. “It’s a family and it feels like it.”

Finneran was diagnosed with prostate cancer 20 years ago. When looking back at his time as a patient, he doesn’t focus on his diagnosis. It’s his relationships with faculty and his core team that he remembers most.

“I remember the personal care and attention from the doctors and staff,” says Finneran, a resident of New York and Palm Beach, Fla. “I always found total commitment on every level of patient care, as well as the highest quality of research.”

Bill Finneran, MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors Member. Photo by Meghan McCarthy, Palm Beach Daily News.

Now a member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors, he’s also found a way to honor those he believes hold the key to eradicating cancer for good.

The Finneran Family Prize will be bestowed annually to a deserving faculty member through the Finneran Family Endowment for Translational Research at MD Anderson.

Established through a $1 million gift announced at the 2013 Making Cancer History® Gala in Palm Beach, the inaugural prize was awarded to Christopher
Logothetis, M.D., professor and chair, Genitourinary Medical Oncology,
on Feb. 23.

“This was a pleasant and quite moving surprise because I’ve had the pleasure of caring for Bill Finneran for a long time,” says Logothetis. “He’s a strong-willed, well-intentioned person who knows that his cancer experience has meaning for others as well. He’s allowed us to hone our skills and make sure we treat the patient as well as the cancer.”

Logothetis was recognized for his leadership and innovation in cancer care, particularly as a co-leader of MD Anderson’s Prostate Cancer Moon Shot. He served as Finneran’s primary physician throughout his prostate cancer treatment.

Finneran hopes the award will inspire MD Anderson faculty for years to come.

"I remember the personal care and attention from the doctors and staff. I always found total commitment on every level of patient care, as well as the highest quality of research."

Bill Finneran

survivor

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