Cancer Liaison Program
Established in 1963, the Cancer Liaison Program of the Commission on Cancer (CoC) was developed as a grassroots network of physician volunteers willing to manage clinically related cancer activities in their local institutions and surrounding communities. Initially, membership was limited to surgeons, however, membership was expanded in the 1970s to reflect the multidisciplinary composition of professionals who care for patients with cancer. Today, approximately 45 percent of the nearly 1,600 Cancer Liaison Physicians represent non-surgical disciplines.
What are Cancer Liaison Physicians?
Cancer Liaison Physicians (CLPs) are volunteer physicians responsible for providing the leadership and direction to establish, maintain, and support their facility's cancer program. They are charged with the task of spearheading CoC activities at the facility and community level. CLPs are a required component of CoC-accredited cancer programs and serve a three-year term with eligibility to serve an unlimited number of terms.
What is the Defined Role of the Cancer Liaison Physician?
Cancer Liaison Physician are leaders of the cancer program, someone that will support the facility's efforts in complying with and maintaining the CoC's standards, facilitate activities with the interests of the cancer patients, facility, and the community in mind, and dedicated to improving the quality of care delivered to the cancer patient.
Who Provides Leadership for the Cancer Liaison Physicians?
Those who provide direction to the CLPs across the country are called State Chairs. The local Chapters of the American College of Surgeons nominate candidates for the 65 CoC State Chair positions. Appointments are approved by the Committee on Cancer Liaison. Several states have more than one State Chair to manage the geographic distribution of CLPs; in this case, a State Chair is assigned to a Region or Zone. State Chairs serve a three-year term and can serve a second term based on evaluation of their performance.
The Committee on Cancer Liaison directs the activities of the Cancer Liaison Program including the network of Cancer Liaison Physicians and State Chairs. The Committee also oversees the implementation of priorities established by the funding agency, the American Cancer Society. Current committee leadership: Aaron Bleznak, MD, FACS, Chair, Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, PA and Phillip Roland, MD, FACS, Vice-Chair, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford Connecticut.
Aaron D. Bleznak, MD, FACS, resides in Allentown, PA with his wife Brenda and the youngest two of their four children. He is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College ('79) and Jefferson Medical College ('83). He completed a residency at the Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in NY and in 1991 he joined the Geisinger Clinic as a general/oncologic surgeon. In 2004 Dr. Bleznak accepted the offer to become Vice Chair for Operations & Clinical Affairs at Lehigh Valley Health Network. He is a member of section of Surgical Oncology at the John & Dorothy Morgan Cancer Center, largely restricting his practice to breast cancer, and currently also is Director of the Resident Clinic, Medical Director for Perioperative Services, and Assistant Medical Director for Surgery in the Lehigh Valley Physician Group. Additionally, he has been engaged with the Keystone Chapter of the American College of Surgeons serving as Young Physician, Secretary, Vice President, and President. He served as a board member for the Pennsylvania Cancer Control Consortium from 2002-2009 and co-chaired the Care Delivery subgroup for the creation of Pennsylvania's cancer control plan. Dr. Bleznak has been a Cancer Liaison Physician since 1991, served as State Chair for Central Pennsylvania for eight years, and a member of the CoC since 2004. He was Vice Chair of the Committee on Cancer Liaison for three years and has served as Chair since 2009.
Dr. Roland received his medical degree from the Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans. He served as an intern and resident in obstetrics and gynecology, a research fellow in molecular biology and a clinical fellow in gynecologic oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
A diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and its subspecialty board on gynecologic oncology, Dr. Roland is also a diplomate of the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Surgeons.
Revised January 31, 2011