Annals of Surgical Oncology 8:477-479 (2001)
© 2001 Society of Surgical Oncology
LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., MD, FACS: The First Heritage Award Winner, Society of Surgical Oncology
Edward M. Copeland III, MD
From the Department of Surgery, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida.
Correspondence: Address correspondence to: Dr. Edward M. Copeland III, Dept. of Surgery, University of Florida, College of Medicine, P. O. Box 100286, Gainesville, FL 32610-0286; Fax:352-338-9809; E-mail: copelem{at}mail.surgery.ufl.edu
The Heritage Award was established in 2001 to honor a past president of our Society whose contributions to oncology reflect our heritage. The Award will be selected by the past president serving his or her last term on the Executive Committee. I have the great pleasure of selecting the first past president of the Society of Surgical Oncology, formerly known as the James Ewing Society, to be singled out by our organization as special among his peers and to win the Heritage Award. Since I was a committee of one, I have taken the prerogative of personalizing my presentation to Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall (Fig. 1).
I was a new member of the Society of Surgical Oncology attending a meeting in Maui, Hawaii, in 1978. I was playing tennis, and on an adjoining court was a man I’d already admired but thought I would never have an opportunity to know personally. I think LaSalle Leffall might have lost the tennis match that day to Dr. Bill Shingleton, but forever emblazoned in my mind was the cordial greeting Dr. Leffall gave me as play ceased. He even knew my name! It has been my good fortune to have Dr. Leffall as a friend as the years have progressed from that first meeting in 1978. Our Society has had many prominent and prestigious presidents, but as I scanned the list, Dr. Leffall’s name leaped from the pages as the obvious choice for our first Heritage Award winner.
I cannot catalog his entire distinguished career because of its voluminous nature. I would, however, like to give you a brief biographical sketch of this man. He was born in Tallahassee, Florida, on May 22, 1930, to LaSalle D. Leffall, Sr., who hailed from east Texas, and Martha Jordan Leffall, from northern Alabama. He grew up in the small town of Quincy, Florida. Both his parents were educated and were themselves educators in the public school system of Florida. Coming from such a background, Dr. Leffall was destined to be an educator (Fig. 2). I know, for I, too, am from a small town in the South, and both my parents likewise were educators in the public school system of Georgia. Dr. Leffall graduated as the valedictorian of his high school class, graduated summa cum laude from Florida A&M University, and was first in his class at Howard Medical School. He is pictured in Figure 3 in his residency at Freedmen’s Hospital, now known as Howard University Hospital. He completed a senior fellowship in cancer surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 1959, the year I became a first-year medical student at Cornell, directly across the street. In those days the Ewing Society met at Memorial Hospital, and I was lucky enough to be invited that year. It was clear to me from that moment that this LaSalle Leffall fellow was destined for stardom.
Captain Leffall served his country as Chief of General Surgery in the U.S. Army Hospital in Munich, Germany in 1960 and 1961, then joined the faculty of Howard University College of Medicine. He was selected to be Chairman of the Department of Surgery in 1970 and served in this capacity for the next 25 years. It is quite interesting that Dr. Leffall was acting Dean in that same year, 1970, but only for 3 months. Thirty years later, on September 18, 2000, the graduating Class of 1970 honored him with a portrait to be hung on the "Wall of Deans." They wanted their Dean to be depicted on the Wall of Deans at Howard University College of Medicine. How could a man who was Dean for only 3 months have such an impact on the lives of graduating physicians that they wished to so honor him 30 years later? It happens only if that man is LaSalle D. Leffall.
Dr. Leffall has received many honors, most of which many of the senior members of this organization already know. I would like to list a few you might not know. He has received honorary degrees from the institutions listed in Table 1. For any of us to have one honorary degree is outstanding; to have nine may be a world record for a physician.
In 1987, The M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute established the Biennial LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. Award to recognize his contributions to cancer prevention, treatment, and education in minority and economically disadvantaged communities. In 1989, Quincy, Florida, his hometown, named a street and a wing of the Gadsden Memorial Hospital in his honor. The LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. Surgical Society was founded in 1995 by his more than 200 surgical trainees and 4000 students. The LaSalle D. Leffall Chair in Surgery was established in 1996, and he and his wife, Ruth, established the Martha J. and LaSalle D. Leffall, Sr. Endowed Scholarship Fund and Endowed Professorship in Science at Florida A&M University in 1997 in honor of his mother and father.
Dr. Leffall has been president of the many organizations listed in Table 2. In addition, he has delivered the James Ewing Lecture to our organization, and has been a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board and the American Board of Surgery. He has been chairman of the Steering Committee of the National Dialogue on Cancer, the co-chairs of which are President and Mrs. George Bush. Likewise, Dr. Leffall is the incoming chairman of the Board of Directors of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Dr. Leffall has remained humble and respectful of his mentors throughout the years. In his address as President of the American College of Surgeons in 1995, he expressed his gratitude to his parents and to his teacher, Dr. Burke Syphax, a member of the surgical faculty at Howard for nearly 60 years. Also, Dr. Leffall holds the position of the Charles R. Drew Professor, another of his favorite physicians and past Chairs at Howard University.
If I have one regret about my presentation of this award to Dr. Leffall, it is that I cannot give it from memory, as I have so often been astounded that he can do. In Providence, Rhode Island, one year, he paid his respects to another of his mentors, Dr. Henry T. Randall, past Chief of Surgery at Memorial Hospital. He did it entirely from memory. This presentation stirred the emotions of everyone in the room and gave a window into the depths of love, understanding, compassion, intellect, and appreciation within this man, LaSalle Leffall. Dr. Leffall often quotes others in his addresses, and I would like to close by quoting Dr. Leffall from his presentation as the 35th President of the Society of Surgical Oncology. His presentation, entitled "Surgical Oncology—Expectations for the Future," was delivered in 19791: "In the course of human existence, what is important is not so much intellectual superiority or charismatic presence, but rather patience, stamina and good judgment. But the prime virtue is courage because it makes all other virtues possible. As a surgical oncologist treating patients with cancer, I have seen the human condition in peril. I have seen the stubborn persistence of hope when under ordinary circumstances; there should be no hope. I’ve seen patients who seem to regard life itself as a constant opponent. I’ve seen an exhibition of faith that comes from those of strong moral fiber. I’ve seen the eyes of patients that seem to ask questions with a dignity of mute entreaty. I’ve seen a demonstration of courage that defies description and when I see these and more, it lets me know that as oncologists we must be more sensitive, more caring, and more compassionate to the patients committed to our care. It is these things that are the essence of our expectations for the future."
The two most important events in Dr. Leffall’s life took place on August 18, 1956 and January 6, 1963. These are the dates of his marriage to Ruth McWilliams, his lifelong companion, and the birth of their son, LaSalle D. Leffall III, an honors graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law and Business School (Fig. 4). It is now my pleasure to present to you the 35th President of the Society of Surgical Oncology and the first Heritage Award winner from our Society, Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr.
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FIG. 4. Family photograph taken at a reception given in 1996 to honor Dr. Leffall as President of the American College of Surgeons.
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Footnotes
Presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the Society of Surgical Oncology, Washington, DC, March 15-18, 2001.
Received for publication April 20, 2001.
Accepted for publication April 20, 2001.
REFERENCES
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Leffall LD. Presidential Address: Surgical oncology—Expectations for the future. Cancer 1980; 45: 2925–8.[Medline]
