Jay Loeffler, MD, is chief of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Mass General and the Herman and Joan Suit Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School. An authority on the treatment of benign and malignant brain tumors, he was recruited to Mass General in 1996 to be the director of the current Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center, the 2nd hospital-based proton therapy center in the nation.
Julie Jolin, MD, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Mass General, came to know Dr. Loeffler not as a colleague, but as a patient.
“In May 2010, I was diagnosed with a cerebellar brain tumor,” writes Dr. Jolin. “I was uncertain and scared about my diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.
“Dr. Loeffler, along with my other treating physicians, Dr. Scott Plotkin and Dr. Fred Barker, explained the steps we’d take to understand the tumor and plan treatment. Over the summer, I received daily proton-beam radiation. I was ill for months from its effects. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to practice again as an ob-gyn.
“Dr. Loeffler encouraged me and often met with me to hear how I was doing. He remained optimistic that I would fully recover. I am working full-time now, feeling fantastic and living a very happy life.
“When I see Dr. Loeffler in the halls at Mass General, I hug and thank him. Dr. Loeffler is not only extraordinarily brilliant; he is also so human and kind, and was truly interested in helping me live my life to the fullest.”
