Dr. Ryan Holbrook, a surgical oncologist in Spokane, has been called a pioneer in innovative cancer surgery, but his singular approach, begun in 1995 and continued with self-imposed goals, is I can’t say it with my title.
Yes, Holbrook has pioneered some procedures in the area. These include what he calls HIPEC, a combination of surgeries to remove an abdominal cancer, followed by warm chemotherapy that is infused and circulated in his abdomen for 90 minutes with a tube. He also introduced sentinel lymph node biopsy and liver resection for cancer.
Holbrook, who retired from Cancer Care Northwest on April 7, has specialized in surgery for all cancers of the bowel, especially liver and pancreas. He also performed surgical treatments for melanoma.
But 28 years ago, some general surgeons didn’t immediately welcome him or his operations. At that time, it was done in big cities. He and his wife were attracted to Spokane, but could not find work in the specialty cancer surgery he was looking for, so he opened a solo practice. People seeking cancer surgery went to Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago.
“I felt strongly that the majority of cancer care should be provided in the community and not just in universities and academic centers,” said Holbrook, 67.
“I tried to find a job, but there were very few oncologists in private practice anywhere in the country.”
At first, his practice was slow, with few local introductions. But the patient started hearing about Holbrook. In time, he performed operations for people here, in remote areas, and in other states. Five years later, gynecological oncologist Elizabeth Grosen joined his practice and worked with him for two years. They merged this clinic with Cancer Care His Northwest, where Holbrook was at for his 21 years. Grosen currently works for Providence Health Care.
That 2002 merger was also unusual. At the time, Holbrook said, there were no cancer treatment centers in a community setting where he had all three of his specialties—medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, and surgical oncologist—in one place. .
“At the time, there were surgeons who operated in hospitals or were in private practice and worked in those specialties, but none were integrated into the group.”
Holbrook grew up in Great Falls, Montana from the age of 12 to college at BYU. Then he laughs about his one pastime: ski racing. “I used to ski him six days a week during the winter, so it took him six and a half years to get his bachelor’s degree.”
Deciding to become a doctor, he concentrated. After graduating from medical school at Northwestern University, Holbrook did surgical internships in Boston and Portland. He has fellowships at his Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Roswell, his Mason Medical Center in Virginia, and Massachusetts General Hospital.
All in all, it was nine years of surgical training, and a case of cancer hit him. So I said,
In fact, Holbrook had heard of HIPEC (Thermal Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy) as a breakthrough study and study by Dr. Paul Sugarbaker. After Holbrook asked Sugar Baker about it at a meeting, the surgeon returned with papers and manuals and told him to call if he needed help.
Holbrook applied it well. He has performed over 700 of his HIPEC surgeries. They can last 6-14 hours. Often, as a surgeon, he had to remove part of the intestine, spleen, or stomach to “debulk all visible tumors”, followed by heat chemotherapy.
But the approach made a difference.
“Usually when we’re training as surgeons, when we open up and see tumors all over the place, we close our eyes and say, ‘Sorry, there’s nothing we can do,'” says Holbrook. “But Dr. Sugarbaker said, ‘That’s unacceptable.’ So he did all this research and over time started seeing great results.”
In one case, Holbrook spent over 13 hours performing HIPEC for a woman with an extreme abdominal tumor.
“It’s not a cure for many people. This woman lived about three and a half years after this, but it was very extensive, all over the place, and the tumor was just resistant to the chemotherapy.” , didn’t get it all, but she lived for more than three years, with her grandchildren and family,” he recalls.
“A few weeks ago I saw someone in the office who had HIPEC done 17 years ago and she has been completely clean since.
The use of sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer and melanoma “changed the way these diseases are treated.” Previously, surgeons would remove breast tumors and remove all the lymph nodes in the armpit.
“Now it’s just one or two lymph nodes most of the time,” he explained.
Radiofrequency ablation therapy for liver cancer has also made progress.
At Cancer Care Northwest, he and other professionals coordinated care. Is chemotherapy and radiation therapy first followed by surgery, surgery first followed by chemotherapy, or some other combination best? It plays an important role in helping the
He also performed a special Whipple operation for pancreatic cancer.
“I’ve done about 600 times in total. Even with surgery, the five-year survival rate is at best 20%, but there are many long-term survivors. It’s complicated because they take out the head of the pancreas and then rebuild everything.” ”
He keeps in touch with patients even after they have “graduated” from yearly follow-up. Cancer treatment has changed in almost 30 years with advances in chemotherapy and radiation, he said. Surgery now incorporates more robotics and laparoscopic surgery.
A letter read at his retirement party explained why Holbrook was not hired by the general surgery group here in the 1990s. Today, in Spokane, he has nearly 20 different cancer surgeons.
His wife, Michele, described Holbrook as humble. She gave him words of praise.
If I had a dollar every time someone told me, “Your husband is the kindest man, doctor, and surgeon I have ever met,” I would be a very wealthy woman. will be
They have three sons, one a daughter and one they consider adopted. The couple plans to take advantage of his surgical skills by traveling, skiing, backpacking, and performing several medical missions. When asked about his career milestone, Holbrook did not name the surgery.
“Anytime I make a patient’s life better and they can survive longer, that’s why I did this. It was the best.”