About this Event
The Westport Library and Andrew Wilk are excited to bring back the Westport Library Medical Series. This series is an opportunity for the community to learn about important medical issues, aiming to provide both practical and thought-provoking information that can help individuals navigate the complex world of medicine.
Dr. Robert Altbaum, a longtime Westport internist, will moderate the sessions and introduce experts in the fields under discussion. Each discussion will provide a general review as well as state-of-the-art updates on the topic. There will be time provided for questions from the audience.
The topic for this year's series is cancer, a word that strikes fear and anxiety in everyone. Cancer treatment is a war between the cancer trying to spread and the doctor trying to stop it from overtaking the patient. Fortunately, there have been remarkable advances in the field of oncology. We are witnessing a revolution in cancer care that is allowing patients to live longer, healthier, and even experience cures from previously fatal cancer.
The 2025 Medical Series will address cancer in a four-part series; each being 90 minutes.
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On April 22, Dr. Richard Frank, system chief for clinical and translational cancer research at Nuvance Health, will explore the amazing advances in cancer including chemotherapy, targeted DNA treatment, and immunotherapy that have transformed the cancer treatment landscape. He will also explore the diagnostic, therapeutic, and psychological challenges of treating advanced cancer.
About Richard Frank
Richard C. Frank MD is a physician-scientist who serves as System Chief for Clinical and Translational Cancer Research for Nuvance Health. Dr. Frank has over 25 years experience as a medical oncologist/hematologist, specializing in blood cancers, prostate cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
Dr. Frank graduated from Harvard College, Stony Brook University School of Medicine; and completed his residency in internal medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and his hematology/oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he remained as an attending physician and was awarded an NIH grant for research on the genetic mechanisms of leukemia.
In 2000, he moved to Norwalk Hospital where he established the cancer research program in order to bring cutting-edge cancer trials to patients in the community. He is the principal investigator on many pancreatic cancer research studies, including MRI-based early detection trials in those with familial pancreatic cancer or with high-risk diabetes. His laboratory research aims to discover new biomarkers of pancreatic cancer prognosis and a patent for one was issued in 2024.
He has published extensively in the clinical and basic sciences, including his book Fighting Cancer with Knowledge and Hope (Yale University Press, 2013). Dr. Frank is the recipient of The Humanitarian Award from the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society. He and his wife Miriam reside in Fairfield, where they raised their two boys, Adam and Sam, along with two King Charles Cavaliers, Benny and Theo.
About Robert Altbaum
Dr Robert Altbaum is a recently retired physician who practiced as an Internist in Westport for 40 years. He graduated from New York University, followed by Harvard Medical School, and completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Yale University. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics.
For the past 40 years, he has enjoyed caring for the people of Fairfield County in the group practice, Internal Medicine Associates of Westport. He has been awarded Fairfield County and Connecticut’s Top Doctor award for 24 consecutive years. Currently retired, he continues to teach medical residents at Norwalk Hospital and coordinates the Andrew Wilk Westport Library Medical Series.
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Other events in this series:
On Tuesday, June 3, Dr. Lisa Phuong, a board-certified medical oncologist at Nuvance Health, and Dr. Jeanne Capasse, a board-certified breast surgeon specializing in breast cancer at Nuvance Health, will discuss the exciting progress in the diagnostics and therapeutics of breast cancer. Dr. Phuong will discuss the medical aspects of breast cancer care; Dr. Capasse will focus on surgical approaches and reconstructive surgery of patients with breast cancer.
Fall 2025: Prostate and urological cancer will be reviewed. Date to be announced.
Fall 2025: Advances in lymphoma and leukemia will be the final oncology topic covered. Date to be announced.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Westport Library, 20 Jesup Road, Westport, United States
USD 0.00
