Colorectal cancer: understanding the needs of different patient populations

Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD is a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He is the Chair for Hematology and Medical Oncology for the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. He is the leader of the Gastrointestinal Cancer for the Enterprise-wide Mayo Clinic Cancer Center Dr. Bekaii-Saab is currently the co-leader of the Hepatobiliary Cancer Sub-Committee of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and the Co-Chair for the National Cancer Institute’s Hepatobiliary Task Force.

Dr. Bekaii-Saab earned his medical degree from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and completed a residency in internal medicine at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He then completed fellowships in clinical pharmacology and experimental therapeutics and hematology/oncology at Tufts University/New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Dr. Bekaii-Saab served as a reviewer for many high impact journals and sits on the editorial board of the prestigious Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Bekaii-Saab has authored or co-authored more than 500 peer reviewed publications, abstracts, and book chapters, including papers in such journals as New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, JAMA, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Annals of Oncology, and Clinical Cancer Research.

In February 2023, Deneen Richmond’s life was forever changed when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 rectal cancer. After a year of treatment including chemotherapy, chem-radiation and surgery, Ms. Richmond is proud to shout from the rooftops that she has no evidence of disease. Deneen has shared her personal journey in many forums, and is dedicated to being a patient advocate, erasing the stigma and educating others about colorectal cancer. Deneen is also passionate about improving the health of our communities, promoting health equity and eradicating health disparities.

Deneen has more than 30 years of healthcare leadership experience and currently is the president of a 200+ bed community hospital in Maryland. She has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of the District of Columbia and a master’s degree in health care administration from The George Washington University. She is the author of two chapters in The Healthcare Quality Book, fifth edition, published in 2023 – Health Equity and Diversity; and Population Health. Deneen serves as adjunct faculty at the George Washington University, Milken School of Public Health in the executive masters in health administration programme. She has received numerous professional awards and recognitions.

Deneen uniquely brings the perspective as a patient advocate, a registered nurse and an accomplished healthcare executive. Her most important experience comes from being a patient as a person diagnosed with cancer.