Page 14 - Delaware Medical Journal - July/August 2019

Petrelli to Receive Tilton Award
On October 4, the Tilton Society will be honoring Nicholas J. Petrelli, MD, FACS for his commitment to the profession of medicine with the 4th Annual Tilton Award for Medical Achievement in Delaware. The Tilton Award, named
after James Tilton, MD, the first U.S. Army Surgeon General of the United States as well as the first President of
the Medical Society of Delaware, will be presented to Petrelli for his life-long dedication and his tireless efforts to decrease Delaware’s cancer mortality rate, as well as his selfless efforts to continue to raise the bar for cancer
care throughout the state. “Nick Petrelli truly personifies everything this award is about,” says Medical Society of Delaware President Andrew W. Dahlke, MD. “Delaware would not be where it is today with regard to cancer mortality rates if it weren’t for his steadfast goals and in-the-trenches work for the last 17 years. Delaware is extremely fortunate to have him fighting the good fight.”
A celebration dinner and award ceremony will be held in the Tilton Mansion, home to the University & Whist Club in Wilmington. To purchase tickets, call 302-658-5125, or order online at http://bit.ly/TiltonAward2019.
It is clear to all who know Nick Petrelli that his passion is saving lives and delivering high-quality cancer care.
His excitement is palpable when he explains the success of his second love Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute. This cancer center
is a 200,000-square-foot, state-of-the- art facility that serves a majority of the cancer patients residing in Delaware.
Driving down cancer mortality
According to Petrelli, the decline in Delaware’s cancer mortality is due to several major factors. “Our genetic counseling and gene testing center at the Helen F. Graham Center is reason number one. When I arrived, there was not one full-time adult genetic counselor in the State of Delaware. We now have seven full-time counselors.”
The second factor Petrelli credits is “our NCI-funded clinical trials program, which has gone from about 7% of patients getting on clinical trials in the late 1990s to 20% now.” He continues, “we also have a
very robust cancer community-outreach program. Getting into the underserved areas is the key to prevention, early detection, and decreasing cancer mortality. Educating individuals about lifestyle behavior, the importance of screening
for colon and rectal, cervical, breast, and melanoma cancers is vital. These people
are the unsung heroes of cancer mortality and they put their nose to the grindstone working seven days a week.”
Also, Petrelli credits the 12 multidisciplinary disease site centers within the Graham Center. These centers are an organizational unit of doctors and support staff from different specialties who collaborate to focus on caring for “It’s one-stop shopping and patient satisfaction has skyrocketed through the roof,” says Petrelli.
Finally, Petrelli emphasizes the importance of the Delaware Cancer Consortium in its impact on cancer mortality. “All cancer centers in the state work together with state government and community organizations, spanning every aspect of cancer control and prevention. It is a model for the rest of the country,” says Petrelli. “We all realize that cancer cells are the smartest cells on the planet and we have to all work together to get to our goal.”
What is next for Petrelli? His next mission is to get the Cawley Center for Translation Cancer Research endowed. The center, named after Charlie Cawley, the former president of MBNA, links physicians and working closely together to best meet the needs of each individual patient. In June of 2018, a goal to raise $10 million dollars
in a year was set. “Due to the efforts of our CEO and President, Janice E. Nevin, MD, MPH, and the community, we have raised more than $7 million already,“ says Petrelli. “The efforts by Christiana Care Health System to do something about cancer care — not only on campus, but within the state — and the commitment by the community is what convinced me to come here 17 years ago.”
With his sights set on the new cancer research center, his workload brimming, and his mind racing to the next way to kick cancer’s butt, Petrelli answers the question of what he does to relax. He childhood memories, which have become today’s extra-curricular fun — riding
the waves on his surf board. That’s right, this formidable physician, surgeon, administrator, researcher, and leader, is a surf bum at heart and can describe in vivid detail the days of his youth at the shore on Long Island, riding the waves on his cousin’s longboard, named “10 Toes.” During vacations and on some not nearly frequent enough days off, Petrelli can be found riding the waves and enjoying the ocean air at some of
■ MARY S. FENIMORE is the Manager of Community Relations & Communications for the Medical Society of Delaware.
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Del Med J | July/August 2019 | Vol. 91 | No. 4