Dr. Ari D. Brooks
PHILADELPHIA – The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) is honoring two Penn clinicians for their tireless work in caring for patients. Ari D. Brooks, MD, a professor of Surgery in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the director of Endocrine and Oncologic Surgery and the director of the Integrated Breast Center at Pennsylvania Hospital, will receive the 2018 Humanitarian Award. Suzanne McGettigan, CRNP, a Nurse Practitioner in the Abramson Cancer Center, will receive the Compassionate Care Award. Both clinicians will be honored as part of the MRF’s 5th Annual Wings of Hope of Melanoma Gala on June 13th.
The Humanitarian Award goes each year to an oncologist, dermatologist, or surgeon who is making a large impact in the melanoma community. Brooks is being honored for his commitment to and reputation for exemplary patient care and treatment.
The Compassionate Care Award is given out annually to an individual who has shown compassion, dignity, and leadership, and who offers a patient-centered approach to those in their care. McGettigan was nominated by Brooks and several of her patients for her unwavering commitment to patient care.
Suzanne McGettigan, CRNP
Melanoma is one of the fastest growing cancers in the United States and can strike men and women of all ages, races and skin types. One in 50 Americans will develop melanoma at some point in their lives, with more than 91,000 new cases expected this year alone. It is the leading cause of cancer death in women 25 to 29 years old and is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in children and young adults aged 15 to 29. The majority of melanomas occur on the skin but can also occur in the eye, in mucous membranes, or beneath fingernails or toenails.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.