Leaving His Mark on the Future of GBMC Cancer Care

Some of the first donors to the campaign to create a new home for cancer care at GBMC, the Sandra R. Berman Pavilion, have been those who understand best how much it will improve our patients’ experience. These include current and former patients, as well as their doctors.

One doctor who has contributed is Dr. Frank Rotolo. He knows providing patients a single location for multidisciplinary cancer care is just one of the benefits the Berman Pavilion will deliver. Throughout his 32 years as a surgeon at GBMC, Dr. Rotolo has treated hundreds of cancer patients. As always, his focus is on improving patients’ quality of life.

Early on, Dr. Rotolo’s dedication to his patients and to advancing cancer diagnosis and treatment inspired him to join GBMC’s Cancer Committee and to become one of the first Cancer Liaison Physicians to the American College of Surgeons. He served as the Maryland State Chair for nine years.

This experience had given him an appreciation for the clinical excellence – and the personal touch – that sets GBMC apart. “Patients know their physicians,” he says. “We treat them like family.”

There are cancer patients Dr. Rotolo treated 20 years ago who stay in touch. Some check in for reassurance that they are still in the clear, while others visit to catch up.

When his own father was diagnosed with lymphoma, “Paul (Dr. Celano) took care of Dad,” he says. Dr. Rotolo says he will always be grateful for the kindness everyone showed him and his family.

As Division Head of General Surgery for GBMC, Dr. Rotolo built friendships that have made his work a pleasure. “Because of the quality of people we have in oncology – and throughout the hospital – taking care of patients together is a privilege.”

With the Finney Trimble and Associates practice at GBMC, Dr. Rotolo has been part of many significant advances in surgery in the past 20 plus years, from the introduction of laparoscopic and robotic surgery in several surgical disciplines at GBMC to the advent of sentinel lymph node biopsies for breast cancer and melanoma detection and diagnosis.

His work has been instrumental in bringing GBMC and the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute to the forefront in surgical and cancer quality. Thanks to Dr. Rotolo and others, GBMC was one of the first hospitals in the state to become a member of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.

His direct involvement in GBMC’s oncology program made his decision to give to the Berman Pavilion capital campaign an easy one. Dr. Rotolo is looking forward to providing cancer patients a sunlit, welcoming space in a building that will support the multidisciplinary care that is a hallmark of the Berman Cancer Institute.

As for the nature of his campaign support, Dr. Rotolo has chosen to make his generous gift in manageable, monthly installments. While he is personally disinterested in the notion of having created a legacy, through his many contributions to high quality patient care he is making his mark, improving the lives of cancer patients now and well into the future.

You can support GBMC's campaign, as well as our outstanding physicians like Dr. Roloto with a contribution to The Promise Project, Sandra R. Berman Pavillion.