New doc
on the block

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

When Dr. Michael V. Seiden was approached by a selection committee looking to find a new president for Fox Chase Cancer Center, he was flattered.
But he was also hesitant. He had just lost his wife to breast cancer, and he was busy raising two teenagers.
As time passed, his interest in the job was renewed. He knew Fox Chase was one of the couple dozen hospitals in the United States with the "oomph" to make a difference in the fight against cancer.
"I became progressively more excited about the potential of leading a very strong cancer center and the opportunity to make it stronger," he said.
The long and highly competitive search came to an end on March 22, when the Fox Chase Cancer Center board of directors elected Seiden as president.
Seiden, 48, had led the gynecologic program at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and was chief of the clinical research unit in Massachusetts General Hospital’s division of cancer medicine.
On May 31, Seiden attended a staff breakfast at Fox Chase and started a day later.
"I’ve had a great time since then," he said. "The staff has been absolutely wonderful. It’s a very exciting time at Fox Chase. There are a lot of very talented people here and a lot of challenges here."
The staff learned a lot about Seiden during his June 21 welcoming speech he titled, "Toward a Future Without Cancer."
In his talk, he spoke of his wife Jean’s journey since a small mass was discovered on her breast during a mammogram in December 2002. After beating that, she found a lump in her neck.
Jean Seiden received many drugs, participated in trials and saw a team of medical experts.
It wasn’t enough, as she died in a home hospice program on Oct. 30, 2006.
The experience reinforced in Michael Seiden the cold reality that cancer is personal and that even the best care and latest technologies sometimes can’t overcome it.
Besides watching his wife battle cancer, Seiden lost his dad in his mid-50s to pancreatic cancer and has a 4-year-old nephew who had a brain tumor.
"I have a very personal part of my brain that wants to make a difference with this disease," he said. "My family has been touched in many different ways by cancer."
Since making the move from the Boston area, Seiden has been living in an apartment in Meadowbrook while he looks for a house.
He has what he calls two "great kids" — 18-year-old Stanley, who will be a sophomore at Yale, and 15-year-old Stephanie, who will be a sophomore at Germantown Academy.
When he’s not working, he likes to cook, play chess, follow the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Steelers and spend time with his family.
Seiden replaced Dr. Bob Young, who resigned after 18 years. Young remains at the center as chancellor.
The new president described his predecessor as someone respected in the oncology community.
Young represents the center’s interests with the National Cancer Institute and lawmakers in Harrisburg.
He’s also working with City Councilman Brian O’Neill to win approval of projects that would expand the center’s campus.
Even though he’s been on the job less than two months, Seiden is already convinced that the center needs to grow to accommodate more patients.
"The facility is stretched to its maximum," he said.
Fox Chase is seeking to build a research and car pavilion, along with a multi-level garage, on its campus. Demolition is scheduled to begin this week, and Seiden hopes the garage is completed in 18 months and the pavilion in 24 months.
Neighborhood opponents vow to fight the project, but Seiden is confident the center will prevail.
"Building on our property is a go," he said.
Building on Burholme Park property is not a go, at least not yet. The center wants to build on about 19 acres of the park but has not received final approval from the city. Some residents are strongly opposed to what they call a "land grab."
Seiden said he is "cautiously optimistic" that the center will ultimately move into the park. He’d like an amicable resolution.
"Fox Chase definitely wants to be a good neighbor," he said.
At the same time, Seiden insisted that the expansion is necessary, especially since the population is aging, which will likely lead to greater incidences of cancer.
"Part of being a good neighbor is taking care of patients who have cancer in the region," he said.
While the center is looking for smaller, temporary off-campus facilities, Seiden said it’s important to have one large campus for staff collaboration on complicated surgical procedures and chemotherapy regimens.
One way or the other, Seiden expects the park issue to be settled by the fall.
Besides a lack of space, another concern of the new president is funding. The United States is the world leader in funding cancer research, but dollars from the National Institute of Cancer have remained flat, particularly when adjusted for inflation.
Seiden is grateful for the center’s network of volunteers who solicit donations from individuals, corporations and foundations.
The money raised, he said, is put to good use because the center has extraordinarily talented researchers.
So, is there a future without cancer?
Seiden will do his best to "wave the Fox Chase flag" as the center’s head cheerleader to rally the troops to fight the disease.
The hospital executive knows there is no pill to cure the disease, but there are treatments that allow patients to live longer and better lives. Progress has been made in the last 20 years, but cancer remains a highly lethal disease.
Under Seiden’s leadership, Fox Chase will play a role in promoting cancer-prevention methods. The hospital will discourage smoking and encourage at-risk people to undergo colonoscopies and imaging tests for breast, ovarian, cervical and lung cancers.
"There’s going to be a future with less cancer," Seiden said. "I’m absolutely sure we’re going to make progress. But it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon." ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com