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Be a Brain Surgeon for a Day!

Published Date
Author Swedish Blogger

Dr. Greg Foltz, a brain surgeon from the Ivy Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle is inviting 25 people (including students) to join him on Friday, Aug. 24 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to become a “Brain Surgeon for a Day.” (Enter by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, August 9, 2012.)

Randomly selected individuals will spend time learning about the brain and its key parts. These individuals will see how Swedish surgeons are using the latest research to find new treatments for brain cancer. As part of the event, these individuals will:

  • Walk away with their own pair of Swedish medical “scrubs”, just like a doctor
  • Participate in a behind the scenes tour and gain special access to places within the hospital most visitors do not get to see
  • Rub elbows in the confides of the “green room” and meet some of the smartest physicians of the Pacific Northwest region
  • Learn about brain tumors and why some are so deadly

At the conclusion of the tour, Dr. Foltz and other neuroscientists will host a lunch session with participants about his every day battle against brain cancer, a disease he hopes will be cured one day soon.

“Brain Surgeon for a Day” Schedule of Events:

  • 11:00 AM: Scrub Up with your new pair of medical scrubs

  • 11:05 AM: Meet and Greet with Dr. Greg Foltz of the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Swedish

  • 11:15 AM: Take part in an interactive session with brain tissue samples at the Seattle Science Foundation

  • 11:50 AM: Guided behind-the-scenes tour of the Ivy Brain Tumor Center research lab, clinic and research partners

  • 12:05 PM: Visit a behind-the-scenes location

  • 12:20 PM: Lunch and Q&A session with Dr. Foltz and other special guests

  • 1:00 PM Conclusion

Other possible events during the two-hour event:

  • See the first commercial Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Core Facility in the U.S. and how it is being used for brain cancer.
  • Explore the genome sequencing machines that help decode DNA in tumors.
  • Meet brain tumor researchers from the Institute of Systems Biology and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center – opportunity to learn more about bimolecular study and the brain tumor vaccine trial

 

Why become a “Brain Surgeon” at the Ivy Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment?

 

Brain cancer is the most malignant cancer in the world, affecting more than 22,000 people in the United States. It hits people in the prime of their lives with little warning signs or symptoms and no one knows why.

By becoming a “brain surgeon” for the day, participants will have the opportunity to see firsthand the tremendous work physicians do every day to treat brain disease. Our hope is that the “Brain Surgeon for a Day” event will inspire both the participants who attend, and the individuals who join the conversation online to support people working to find new research and treatments for brain disease. We also hope we inspire people to consider the medical field as a career path.

Questions about the “Brain Surgeon for a Day” event:

Media Inquiries:

  • (206) 405-6481, media@swedish.org (@Swedish)

  • Aaron Blank, (206) 343-1543, aaronblank@feareygroup.com (@AaronBlank)

 

How to enter:

Anyone interested in entering for a chance to be a “Brain Surgeon for a Day” should submit their name, email address, phone number, age, and scrub sizes by email to communicationsweb@swedish.org. (Click here to email and fill in your information.) Entry submissions must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, August 9, 2012. 20 winners will be selected at random from the submissions to join Dr. Foltz in the Operating Room at Swedish. For those who are not selected, join us online during the event via @Swedish, @CureBrainCancer or #SwedishDoc4Day.

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About Dr. Foltz:

 

Greg Foltz, M.D., is a neurosurgeon at Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle, Wash. and the director of The Ben and Catherine Ivy Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment, a multidisciplinary cancer center where surgeons, oncologists, neurologists and radiologists deliver coordinated care for patients diagnosed with brain tumors. The Center also serves as home to a world-class scientific laboratory where Dr. Foltz and his team of world-class scientists conduct genomic and neuron-oncology research aimed at personalizing medicine for patients and finding a cure for terminal brain cancer.

In 2008, Dr. Foltz organized the first-ever Seattle Brain Cancer Walk to raise support and awareness for brain cancer and to bring clinical trials to the Pacific Northwest. After just four years, the Walk has raised more than $2 million to help fight the disease. Brain cancer patients do not live long enough to mount any sort of advocacy effort on their own behalf. From the time these patients are diagnosed to the day they are no longer able to fight, they are battling for their lives. As a result, Dr. Foltz dedicates one day a week strictly to advocacy.

Dr. Foltz holds an M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri and served his residency at the University of Washington in Seattle.