MSHQ Oncologist Hosts Cancer Survivors Day

Engracio P. Cortes, M.D., an attending oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens (r.), and his wife, Lilia Cortes, at National Cancer Survivors Day celebrations at Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens June 8. Photos Rose Albergo Engracio P. Cortes, M.D., an attending oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens in Astoria, described what lured him to specialize in caring for cancer patients.

"Thirty years ago, when I was a medical resident at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Boston, I was drawn to the oncologists who seemed, by necessity, to be so well rounded. Cancer was a specialty that allowed you to treat the whole body," Cortes said.

Given the fact that there were only two chemotherapy drugs available in the 1970s, Cortes has witnessed an era that has seen a boon of promising drugs (more than 200 available now), expanded radiation and surgical treatments, and the promising dawn of genetic breakthroughs. "Oncology is a very dynamic specialty that changes year to year. You must keep up to date so you and your patients will not be left out," he said.

Cortes received his medical degree from Far Eastern University in Manila, The Philippines. Following his residency at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, he completed a fellowship in oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.

(L. to r.) Lilia Cortes, Elena Parrotta, Dr. Cortes' nurse, and Dr. Engracio Cortes with cancer survivors at Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens National Cancer Survivors Day celebrations. Cortes, who has been in solo practice since 1981, functions as the hub of the team that treats cancer patients. Sometimes he oversees treatment entirely on his own. Often he works in collaboration with surgeons or radiation oncologists. His patients include adults from all walks of life, in all age groups, and with a wide variety of cancers, including lung cancer, malignant lymphoma, colon cancer, and ovarian and breast cancer, among others.

"The most gratifying thing is to see how much longer cancer patients survive now," Cortes, who hosted a National Cancer Survivors Day celebration on June 8, said. "The different outlook for a patient being diagnosed with cancer today versus even just 10 years ago, is amazing and hopeful."

National Cancer Survivors Day is an annual, worldwide "celebration of life" that is held in hundreds of communities throughout the United States, Canada, and other participating countries. Participants unite in a symbolic event to show the world that life after a cancer diagnosis can be a reality.

(Photo left) Dr. Cortes and Caryn Schwab, Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens executive director. In most areas, National Cancer Survivors Day is traditionally observed on or near the first Sunday in June. The day is the world's largest and fastest-growing annual cancer survivor event. Its 20th anniversary will be celebrated in 2007.

Cortes has been hosting a survival celebration for his patients for several years. This year he was joined by Caryn Schwab, executive director of the Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens. Several pharmaceutical companies also lent their support.

The group of about 50 patients included both newly diagnosed individuals and longterm survivors of the disease. Some survivors were marking five years since diagnosis, some 20 years. Together they shared experiences and support and enjoyed a buffet of international foods from area restaurants. Nurses and other cancer specialists joined the festivities, which were highlighted by a candle-lighting ceremony in memory of those who lost their battles.

The day was first conceived by cancer survivor Richard Bloch (co-founder of H&R Block) and his wife, Annette, who held their first Cancer Survivor Rally in Kansas City, Missouri, to obtain media coverage that would demonstrate that a diagnosis of cancer was not an automatic death sentence. The idea soon caught on in other communities and has come to be known as National Cancer Survivors Day.

The National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation defines a survivor as anyone living with a history of cancer, from the moment of diagnosis through the remainder of life. National Cancer Survivors Day demonstrates to communities that their cancer survivor populations are active and productive.