Doctor on 1964 Surgeon General Smoking Advisory Committee to Speak at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A doctor who was part of the first health warning on cigarettes for the U.S. Surgeon General will be the keynote speaker for The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences Special Emphasis Week on “Cancer Prevention and Screening” Sept. 10-14.

Dr. Charles A. LeMaistre will talk about the book he is currently writing on the famous report in 1964 from the Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health on Monday, Sept. 10 from 5-6 p.m. at the UA Child Development Center Lecture Hall.

“Over the past few decades, emphasis has been placed on research to find the cure for cancer. It is becoming increasingly recognized that any cure would be dependent on early detection. As a school dedicated to primary care, we feel it is incumbent on us to develop clear expertise in this area so that our graduates can provide state-of-the-art cancer prevention and screenings. We also have an obligation to rural Alabama to ensure that the latest knowledge is available,” said Dr. Eugene Marsh, CCHS dean.

The CCHS Special Emphasis Week “Cancer Prevention and Screening” will include five doctors who will speak on various cancer prevention topics, each presenting at 12:15 p.m. in the Willard Auditorium at DCH Regional Medical Center. These talks, co-sponsored by DCH Regional Medical Center, are clinical in nature and are free and open to the public. The schedule is as follows:

Monday, Sept. 10 – “Update on Breast Cancer Screening”
Dr. Abenaa M. Brewter, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston

Tuesday, Sept. 11 – “Prostate Cancer Screening and Prevention”
Dr. Jeri Kim, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Wednesday, Sept. 12 – “Prevention and Early Detection of
Colorectal Cancer: Current and Future Practice”
Dr. Peter Lance, Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson

Thursday, Sept. 13 – “Integrative Therapies and Cancer Prevention”
Dr. Peter A.S. Johnstone, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta

Friday, Sept. 14 – “Lung Cancer Prevention”
Dr. Lewis E. Foxhall, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

LeMaistre, a native of Lockhart, attended UA and graduated from Cornell University Medical College in 1947 after spending his first two years of medical school in Tuscaloosa. His residency and research fellowship in infectious disease at New York Hospital and Cornell were the beginning of his contributions to medicine and history.

While at Cornell, LeMaistre was not only a professor, but conducted research on germ warfare defense as a member of the U.S. Public Health Service Epidemic Intelligence Service. He started teaching at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta in 1954 and became chairman of its department of preventive medicine and community health.

LeMaistre moved to teach at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Houston and served as medical director of Woodlawn Hospital’s Chest Division. At this time, he was the youngest doctor on the Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health, the first to announce a link between smoking and lung cancer.

LeMaistre was named associate dean for health affairs as the University of Texas in Austin in 1965. He was soon promoted to vice chancellor then chancellor, a higher position than any other physician had held at the university.

In 1978, LeMaistre began his 18 year legacy as president at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. During his tenure there, it became one of the top outpatient cancer care centers in the world. He rejoined the center in 2006 as a professor in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, which he established.

In addition to his research on cancer and the harmful effects of smoking, LeMaistre led the National Conference on Smoking OR Health in 1981, the International Summit on Smoking Control Leaders in 1985, and served as president of the American Cancer Society in 1987.