STUART QUAN

QUAN--Stuart H. Q.

The Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) community mourns the loss of esteemed colorectal surgeon Stuart H. Q. Quan. His passing, on July 4, was also his 98th birthday. It's fitting that Dr. Quan entered and left the world on Independence Day as his was a uniquely American success story: The son of Chinese immigrants, he excelled in school, attending both Stanford University and Harvard Medical School on scholarship. He completed internships at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Children's Hospital Boston (now known as Boston Children's Hospital) before arriving at MSK, where he would spend the next 51 years of his career. Among his many contributions to the field, Dr. Quan was perhaps best known for his seminal 1959 article on preoperative radiation therapy for rectal cancer, which prompted a series of national studies on the topic and helped improved treatment options for people with the disease. It also distinguished Dr. Quan as one of the country's preeminent figures in the management of rectal cancer. A visionary leader as well as a talented surgeon, Dr. Quan served as President of the Society of Surgical Oncology in 1971 and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons in 1984. During his career, he received numerous honors, including the creation of an endowed chair at MSK in his name. But the accolades that mattered most to him were those he received from the many people who knew and loved him: beloved husband and father, treasured friend, esteemed colleague, and compassionate physician. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family. We join them in mourning his passing and express our gratitude for the many years we shared with him. The burial will be private. A celebration of his life will take place at a later date. Craig B. Thompson, President and CEO; Jose Baselga, Physician-in-Chief; Jeffrey Drebin, Chair, Department of Surgery; Julio Garcia-Aguilar, Chief, Colorectal Service Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center