Ambassador Spotlight
As Celebration nears, we'll introduce you to some of the 424 California Ambassadors
Christy Russell, MD
Altadena CA
Health professional/researcher
Member of the CA Division board of directors
My career as a medical oncologist is a direct result of multiple touch points with the American Cancer Society very early in my medical career. As a medical student in Philadelphia, I was awarded a summer scholarship from the Society to work for a small stipend with a prominent cancer physician. That experience galvanized my career in cancer medicine. During my first year at the University of Southern California, I was awarded an institutional grant from the Society to do some clinical and laboratory research work. Despite the fact that the Society directed my career path, I did not begin to volunteer with them until about 10 years ago.
I don’t have one story to tell, I have thousands. Each story is about a patient, along with their children, parents, siblings, and loved ones. Until every patient that I care for knows about the Society and looks to them at some time during the course of their care, then I have more work to do.
In addition to being a provider of care, I am also a caretaker for both of my parents with cancer. My father has been treated for prostate cancer and continues to deal with the side effects of that therapy. My mother is currently undergoing chemotherapy for what is an incurable ovarian cancer. Each parent has looked to me to guide them through the process of their therapy. I, in turn, have directed them to the American Cancer Society for all of its services.
Raymond J Melrose, DDS, FACD
Los Angeles CA
Health Professional
Involved in RFL, MSABC, and fund raising
I am a dentist, a practicing oral and maxillofacial pathologist, and a former career educator. My father’s life was ruined by tobacco. He died from emphysema after seven years of fighting for every breath. In my profession, I see the consequences of tobacco use in the diagnoses of mouth and throat cancer that I make virtually every day. As an individual, I have felt powerless to educate smokers and professionals about the horrors of tobacco use and the evil of the industry that profits from it. But, when I was asked by the American Cancer Society to help develop an educational module for dentists about oral cancer, I found an answer to my frustration. It was in this effort that I realized that the American Cancer Society could help amplify my voice exponentially. As a volunteer I help patients, educate doctors, and reach even government policy makers.
Nothing in my professional life has been more gratifying or made me more grateful than my association with the American Cancer Society.
Learn more
ACS Cancer Action Network >>
VIDEO | Dr Christy Russell on CNN International >>
