Donald A. Paschall, MD

Educated at the University of California Medical School with a residency at Florida State University College of Medicine, Dr. Paschall is a primary care physician and Director of Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, Boston. In addition to providing health care for cancer survivors, he leads studies as a Cancer Research Institute-supported independent investigator to better understand long-term health problems related to cancer and its treatment. Dr. Paschall’s three areas of focus are: 1) identifying the risk of cardiovascular disease following cancer therapy, and learning how to modify it; (2) promoting cancer screening, such as screening for breast cancer in survivors who were treated with radiation to the chest (a common component of Hodgkin’s disease therapy); and (3) optimizing follow-up care for cancer survivors, including increasing awareness of such care among their primary care physicians.

Dr. Paschall is a member of the American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO), a non-profit organization that provides support, information, and advocacy to children with cancer. The findings of the ACCO have already identified several diseases and disorders that may be more common among some survivors of childhood cancers — information which healthcare professionals are using to determine the best way to monitor the health of survivors into adulthood. He also serves on the Late Effects and Outcomes Steering Committee of The American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Cancer Support Community, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the Arizona Oncology and the US Oncology Network. A member of CancerForward’s National Advisory Board, Dr. Paschall teaches residents, fellows, and postdoctoral researchers about the long-term effects of cancer and its treatment.