Richard J. Bleicher, M.D., F.A.C.S., Joins Fox Chase Cancer Center’s Department of Surgical Oncology as Breast Surgeon

PHILADELPHIA (July 21, 2006) – Richard J. Bleicher, M.D., F.A.C.S., has joined Fox Chase Cancer Center’s department of surgical oncology as a breast surgeon. Bleicher’s clinical interests include breast-conserving surgery, skin-sparing mastectomy, sentinel lymph-node biopsy and lymphatic mapping.
Bleicher comes to Fox Chase from The Palo Alto Medical Foundation, where he had a clinical appointment at Stanford University Medical Center. There, he also served as primary investigator for the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Trials for Palo Alto. He was a member of the Sutter Health System-Wide Breast Cancer Leadership Committee, as well as the executive subcommittee of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Cancer Care Committee.
Previously, Bleicher held a three-year fellowship in surgical oncology at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, Calif. From 2002 to 2003, he was the Institute’s first chief administrative surgical oncology fellow, an honor the program director now bestows annually.
Bleicher earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania and completed his M.D. at Temple University in 1994. He interned and served his residency in general surgery at the Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh, where he earned the Albert G. Marrangoni, M.D., Surgical Research Award twice in recognition of outstanding achievements for his clinical and scientific investigations. He also won three Research Awards of Excellence at Mercy.
Bleicher was the American College of Surgeons Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter’s 30th Annual Resident’s Clinical Research winner. He received an American Society of Clinical Oncology Merit Award in 2002 and the Sentinel Node 2002 Congress Young Investigator Award.
Bleicher has made frequent presentations at annual meetings of the American Association for Cancer Research, the Society of Surgical Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Breast Surgeons and other conferences, including the Third International Sentinel Node Congress in Yokohama, Japan.
Fox Chase Cancer Center was founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as the nation’s first cancer hospital. In 1974, Fox Chase became one of the first institutions designated as a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center. Fox Chase conducts basic, clinical, population and translational research; programs of prevention, detection and treatment of cancer; and community outreach. For more information about Fox Chase activities, visit the Center’s web site at www.fccc.edu or call 1-888-FOX CHASE.