Originally published July 13, 2018
When Raymond U. Osarogiagbon, MD, FACP, began his career in lung cancer in the 1990s, many questioned his decision to focus on a disease whose outlook was so poor. But to Dr. Osarogiagbon, patients with lung cancer were the ones who needed the most help, and this was the disease where the opportunities to make a difference were greatest.
While lung cancer care has improved dramatically over the past few decades, a patient’s geographic location often dictates their chances of surviving. As the director of the Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Program at Baptist Cancer Center, Dr. Osarogiagbon is focused on helping all patients benefit from the latest advances, regardless of where they live. Since 2005, he has worked in Memphis, Tennessee, in the heart of the Southeast, where the lung cancer burden is the greatest and where outcomes tend to be the worst. Patients in the region are more likely to experience poverty, have less access to basic health care services, and have fewer cancer specialists compared to the rest of the United States.
