A New Opportunity

Today, I was elected to serve as the 2010-2011 president of the National Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society. I’ve been volunteering with the American Cancer Society for more than 30 years, so it’s an honor for me to have the opportunity to be a leader in such a well-respected organization.

As director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, I have been involved with the work the Society does to save lives and fight cancer. Throughout my career, I’ve always felt that the work I was doing at UAB was closely linked to the work of ACS. Being president is an opportunity to bring the two even closer together, which is incredibly exciting.

One of my goals for next year is to continue working to eliminate cancer health disparities. Growing up in rural Alabama, I’ve seen firsthand the inequalities in health care for minorities and underserved populations. Unfortunately, this problem isn’t unique to Alabama, but rather a problem across the entire country. As leaders in the fight against cancer, I feel that it is our duty to address this problem.

I’m proud to represent the American Cancer Society and the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center in this role as we work to save even more lives this year. I firmly believe that we will, early in this century, live in a world where cancer is no longer a major public health problem. I look forward to sharing our progress on this journey with you.

- Ed Partridge, M.D.