FOCUS | June 22, 2007 | CLASS SYMPOSIUM II: Alums Share 25 Years of Adventure, Inspiration

“I am grateful for getting cancer. I found new ways of understanding. I am happier,” said Vicki Heller, HMS ’82, during her talk about her battle with tongue cancer at the Class Symposium.

Eight alums from the HMS Class of ’82 came forward to share their experiences and insights on the afternoon of June 7 as part of the Alumni Week Class Symposium titled “Inspiration after 25 Years.” About 150 people gathered at Walter amphitheater in the Tosteson Medical Education Center to hear the stories of their classmates.

James O’Connell began the session by recounting his adventures as president of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which he helped found in 1985. “I have the best job in the world, believe it or not,” said O’Connell, telling anecdotes from his rounds throughout Boston, administering physical exams and giving out medication to the homeless. Though the stories were heartwarming, O’Connell informed his classmates that in the seven years he and his colleagues followed a cohort of 119 homeless people (with an average age of 45), 44 of them died. “That’s the highest mortality rate of any subpopulation in the United States,” he said.
After O’Connell finished his talk, the audience gave him a standing ovation. “Jim O’Connell is our saint … [his talk] was just astounding,” said classmate Linda Dagi, an instructor in ophthalmology at Children’s Hospital Boston.

Following this presentation, Michael Glafkides spoke about his experiences in plastic surgery for breast cancer patients, and Robert Yancey, an orthopedic surgeon in Oregon, took the audience on a whirlwind tour of his time as a medical volunteer in third-world countries. “Just the feeling of taking care of these people who have nothing, their feeling of friendship, and how much they appreciated what we were doing, really kept [us] going,” said Yancey.

The host of the event, Abraham Morgentaler (an HMS associate clinical professor of surgery and a urologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center), discussed his work on testosterone. “My confession is, I’m obsessed with sex,” he joked. While keeping a humorous tone, Morgentaler described his serious finding—that, contrary to the dominant theory, high testosterone levels do not increase the risk of prostate cancer. Just as he finished, a man from the audience stood and addressed the crowd, commending Morgentaler’s dissident discovery. “This work, inside an academic institution—with grants and promotions on the line, that’s bravery,” he said.

“Just the feeling of taking care of these people who have nothing, their feeling of friendship, and how much they appreciated what we were doing, really kept [us] going.”

After the break, the final four speakers focused on personal experiences and choices. Vicki Heller (who practices obstetrics and gynecology in Wellesley Hills) mixed humor with heartfelt emotion as she discussed her battle with tongue cancer. “I think there are good things in every bad thing that happens to you…. I found new ways of understanding…. I think and I listen more,” she said. “I am happier.”

E. Richard Clark, an anesthesiologist practicing in Oregon, followed up with a talk about his tree farm and the future of medicine. “Now I know this is one of many lectures you’ve heard about tree farming and medicine parallels, so I’ll try not to repeat myself too much,” he said to a ripple of laughter from the audience.
Tally Lassiter, now chief of orthopedic surgery at Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center in North Carolina, spoke of his life’s ups and downs as a husband, a father, and a Division I sports team physician.

Finally, Cynthia Reyes, who practices general and pediatric surgery in Pensacola, Fla., described her journey from Harlem to Harvard. As she described those in her life who inspired her, Reyes included her HMS classmates. “Friendship,” she said, surveying the room, “is the inspiration for this reunion.”

—Lauren Cahoon

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