Recognizing physicians who are doing community service locally or outside the state or nation
Bruce D. Waldholtz, MD
Gastroenterology Associates Assistant Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine, EVMS
Bruce Waldholtz grew up in a family whose dynamic changed entirely when his grandfather died of lung cancer. “It was the 1950s,” Dr. Waldholtz remembers, “when you didn’t hear people talk about cancer very much.”
But growing up in Pittsburgh, he did hear his mother talk about her friend Bernie, who she called “the smartest person in the world, who was going to figure out this breast cancer thing.” Her friend Bernie, it turned out, was Dr. Bernard Fisher, who later became Chair of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast Project at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “Dr. Fisher and my mother went to the same high school – Taylor Allderdice in Pittsburgh,” Dr. Waldholtz says. “Of course, he’s the one who proved that lumpectomy was an effective option, and that Tamoxifen saves lives post-breast cancer surgery.” “I don’t know how she knew how smart Dr. Fisher was,” Dr. Waldholtz says, “but she was prescient. Even in those days, she kept urging women to get mammograms. She’s been a big influence on what I do.” Dr. Waldholtz and his wife chose to make Hampton Roads their home because it’s close to her family in Baltimore and 14 degrees warmer than Pittsburgh. “I liked that there was a medical school here that would offer opportunities for me,” he says. “When I left Johns Hopkins, I felt I’d been given a unique medical education, and I felt a responsibility to share what I’d been taught. I wanted to share that with medical students.”
That notion of giving back – of contributing to the betterment of his community – inspires the impressive body of volunteer work he has embraced throughout his career, particularly for the American Cancer Society. He began his relationship with ACS in 2006, mounting a team for the annual Relay for Life. “My job was to recruit men to wear dresses and go around the track raising money in the ‘Miss Relay’ Pageant,” he says. Since then, he’s become one of the Society’s most prolific fundraisers and speakers. A moment of particular pride was a 2006 invitation to speak to the African American Men’s Forum at Norfolk State University. “There were around 700 men at the Forum,” he remembers. He was later invited to join the local ACS Board. That invitation gave him the opportunity to participate at a higher level: he began speaking not just regionally, but nationally as well. “I took advantage of the chance to help any way I could,” he says, “and I was able to get involved in Cancer Prevention Study 3, a 20-30 year study looking at the epidemiologic causes of cancer, with a view to ultimately preventing the disease.” Dr. Waldholtz is currently Chair-elect of the Board of ACS South Atlantic, and chairs the South Hampton Roads Leadership Council. He’s recently been designated a 2014 recipient of the American Cancer Society’s prestigious St. George National Award, which recognizes volunteers’ distinguished service in support of the Society’s mission. Volunteerism is a family affair for Dr. Waldholtz, his wife and children. His wife Baila drives for Lee’s Friends and teaches children to read, and all three kids have their own causes. Ben, the family’s beloved golden cocker, was a hard-working Board-certified pet therapist until he passed away in June. Dr. Waldholtz would like to tell his colleagues that even with some of the frustrating changes going on in medicine, there are still many opportunities to help their communities in a satisfying fashion. He quotes another doctor – Dr. Seuss – who wrote, “Unless someone like you cares a whole lot / nothing but nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
If you know physicians who are performing good deeds – great or small – who you would like to see highlighted in this publication, please submit information on our website – www.hrphysician.com – or call our editor, Bobbie Fisher, at 757-773-7550.
