Cancer surgeon Gerald A. Isenberg, M.D., F.A.C.S., will present his lecture “Thinking Out of the Box and Into the Colon,” on Wednesday, March 18, at 3 p.m., at the College’s East Parlor, St. Joseph Hall.

Dr. Isenberg, a surgeon and professor at Thomas Jefferson University, will be the keynote speaker for the College’s 22nd Annual Biomedical Distinguished Lecture Series. Dr. Isenberg specializes in colorectal cancer and today, colon cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in the U.S. in both men and women. In fact, in 2013, the American Cancer Society reported that in this country 143,000 people were diagnosed with colorectal cancer and about 51,000 died from it. 

“Cancer (all cancers) is a subject that touches everyone. It strikes one in two males and one in three females in their life time. In the United States, a combined statistics of 1.6 million new cases of cancer were reported in 2013 with a mortality of close to 600,000,” said Chestnut Hill College’s Lakshmi Atchison, Ph.D., professor of biology and biomedical lecture series director.

“Everyone should be aware of the seriousness of this disease and watch for early warning signals of cancer. The benefit will be when people make an effort to understand cancer awareness, early detection and cancer prevention,” said Dr. Atchison.

Dr. Isenberg has been in practice for 27 years and serves as Vice President of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, has been recognized as one of Philadelphia Magazine’s top doctors in 2002, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and won Thomas Jefferson University’s Dean’s Award for faculty mentoring in 2010. 

The lecture is free and open to the public. Contact Lakshmi Atchison, Ph.D., professor of biology and director of biomedical lecture series, at latchiso@chc.edu or 215-248-7159 for more information.