Dr. DeFoe Appointed Cancer Liaison Physician

FAYETTEVILLE – Sarahgene Gillianne DeFoe, M.D., has been appointed Cancer Liaison Physician for the Cape Fear Valley Cancer Treatment and CyberKnife^© Center. The appointment is for three years.

Dr. DeFoe is among more than 1,500 volunteer physicians who comprise the Cancer Liaison Physician network. The volunteers evaluate, interpret and report their respective facility’s performance data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB). They then help implement quality improvement initiatives at their facilities based on the collected data.

NCDB data contains data, such as patient demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment, and outcome information for more than 25 million malignant cancers diagnosed and treated in the U.S. between 1985 and 2009.

Cancer Liaison Physicians also spearhead local initiatives championed by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer (CoC). The CoC collects data from accredited cancer programs and provides tools to help diagnose, treat and improve quality of care for patients. 

Dr. DeFoe received her medical degree from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pittsburgh, Penn. She completed a residency in radiation oncology at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Penn. During her residency, she received extensive training in stereotactic radiosurgery, including the CyberKnife^© Robotic Stereotactic Radiosurgery System.