From legislation reform to patient services, David Rosenthal, MD, senior physician at the Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute, has made a difference in the lives of thousands of cancer patients across New England and the United States.
Dr. Rosenthal is a past president of the American Cancer Society and continues to play an active role within the organization. Among his most enduring contributions while at the American Cancer Society was the instrumental role he played in bringing an American Cancer Society Hope Lodge to Boston.
Opened in 2008, the Hope Lodge helps thousands of cancer patients and their caregivers save millions of dollars in lodging costs when they travel for vital treatments. As the chairperson of the Massachusetts Coalition for a Healthy Future, Dr. Rosenthal was also responsible for leading the state’s innovative efforts to heighten tobacco control during early implementation of the tobacco tax.
For more than 20 years, Dr. Rosenthal had been the director and CEO of Harvard University Health Services and in 2000, Dr. Rosenthal was named medical director of the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The center’s mission is to integrate complementary therapies with conventional cancer treatments to best treat challenging cancers. Dr. Rosenthal is a 2012 recipient of the American Cancer Society Distinguished Achievement in Cancer Award, which recognized his career-spanning dedication to the fight against cancer and his exemplary volunteer service to the organization.
