When David Johnson, MD, talks about his part in cancer drug development, he says, “I played a small role.” Others don’t use the word “small” to describe his contributions. They use the word “giant.” According to a June 3, 2019 release from the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern, Dr. Johnson was honored as one of 15 Giants of Cancer Care (https://www.giantsofcancercare.com/recipients/2019) recognized at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference in Chicago on Friday, May 30. The award was given by OncLive, the website for the Oncology Specialty Group (https://www.onclive.com/publications/obtn/2010/april2010/oncology_specialty_group). Past inductees have included leading cancer experts from Harvard Medical School, Stanford, Yale, and the National Cancer Institute. Dr. John Minna, Professor and Director of the Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research at UT Southwestern Medical Center, was among the oncologists honored as a Giant of Cancer Care in 2015. The honor comes as Dr. Johnson prepares to step down after nine years of service as UT Southwestern’s Chair of Internal Medicine. He holds the Donald W. Seldin Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine. He is an oncologist who has been on all sides of cancer: he’s an attending physician, a leading expert in clinical trials, an enthusiastic supporter of cancer research, and a former cancer patient himself. Dr. Johnson was in his early 40s, treating cancer patients in Tennessee, when he was diagnosed with lymphoma. “It came as somewhat of a shock to say the least,” he said. He soon had the chemotherapy he had prescribed for hundreds of patients in the past. He lost his hair and was hit with every side effect: neuropathy, neutropenia, fever, infections, and more.Login Or Register To Read Full Story