Chapter 07: MD Anderson as a Wonderland

Authors

• Albert E. Gunn JD, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Allison Sáenz PhD

Files

Description

Dr. Gunn concludes the interview by waxing nostalgic about his time at MD Anderson. He highlights the institution’s renown and the congeniality he felt with his colleagues.

Identifier

GunnAE_20240627_C07

Publication Date

7-27-2024

City

Houston, Texas

Interview Session

Albert E. Gunn, MD, Oral History Interview, July 27, 2024

Topic Covered

View on Career and AccomplishmentsCharacter, Values, Beliefs, Talents; MD Anderson Impact; MD Anderson Impact; MD Anderson Culture; Personal Reflections, Memories of MD Anderson

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Disciplines

History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Oncology | Oral History

Transcript

Allison Sáenz, PhD :

Yeah from what I can tell on my end, that’s, yeah, very true. I have one last question for you, which really is just to ask if there’s anything that we’ve talked about—or that we haven’t talked about yet? Or if there are any particular moments or memories that stand out about your time at MD Anderson?

Albert E. Gunn, MD:

I guess it was a wonderland for me. I was very lucky to come down here. It was a time when MD Anderson was about to take off. If you read The First 25 Years of MD Anderson, a book that Dr. Clark had—he was great for books. Like The First 25 Years is a history of the first twenty—it was a very interesting book about all the original people who founded it. And also another book, which was important was Cancer Patient Care at MD Anderson. It was chapters by all of the people at MD Anderson on the therapies that they used. It was published about 1977 or ’78, and those were very interesting books. I was lucky to write part of a chapter in that book on psychological rehabilitation, interestingly enough. And it was a place that was on the verge of taking off, and it has taken off. It’s become a place where everybody knows your address as a friend often says. I’ve always worked for places where people knew your address, the American Medical Association, everybody’s heard of it. And MD Anderson, everybody around the world when you say, “I’m from MD Anderson, ” “Oh yeah, that’s the cancer hospital.” It’s number one rated now. I don’t know how much those ratings—how valid you want to put on them, but it is number one cancer hospital around the world any way you want to look at it. And the chance to be part of that in the way that I was, was really good, and being on the inside of it, and seeing the people. I remember for instance, the—getting to know them as people, there was a custom that many of the senior people had. I mentioned that the faculty club was like an officer’s club. And a number of the senior faculty used to go over for lunch, and it was very collegial, and they liked each other’s company. But before lunch, they usually [settled in?] for a convivial, pick me up to get set for it. And I sometimes would have to go over for one reason or another to pick something up, Dr. Clark was close by. But going back and forth and talking among themselves about the problems and settling things, the collegiality that exists was really wonderful, and it’s so much a reason for MD Anderson’s success. People willing to do what was best for the institution and for the patient, they submerged their own personal interests many times. And Dr. Clark had a policy of [credentializing?] people. Like he picked me to do rehab even though I’m an internist, you know why? Well, he saw something, he thought that something about me might work out there, and he did that with many people. He saw in people something that they weren’t necessarily [credentialized?] in, but he put them into it and they credentialized. I mean Stratton Hill was an endocrinologist, how did he get in pain control? Well, he was interested in endocrine secretions and prostaglandins, all this kind of thing that he could easily transfer into pain control and become an expert and become a noted world authority in it. And I mean, Stratton Hill, when you say pain control, you say Stratton Hill, and he did a great job. So that’s one thing that’s been a great thing for me was getting a chance to see all this in action, and develop, and become something big, which it has become. So thank you for your attention—

Allison Sáenz, PhD :

Of course, thank you.

Albert E. Gunn, MD:

—and being so—

Allison Sáenz, PhD :

Oh, no, my pleasure. I think Soraya will end the recording now, but, yes, I am always amazed at being able to meet people who have such a rich history, which is very clear with your life. So thank you for sharing, and I’m so grateful that—

Albert E. Gunn, MD:

Well, I hope I gave you some information you can use.

Allison Sáenz, PhD :

One hundred percent, this will be archived and incredibly helpful for the Historical Resources Center, so the—

Albert E. Gunn, MD:

And thank you, Al, you’re a wonderful interviewer and very patient—

Allison Sáenz, PhD :

Thank you.

Recommended Citation

Gunn, Albert E. JD, MD and Sáenz, Allison PhD, "Chapter 07: MD Anderson as a Wonderland" (2024). Interview Chapters. 1612.
https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/1612

Conditions Governing Access

Open