Chris Fletcher appreciation thread

Started by caffeinegirl
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caffeinegirl

caffeinegirl

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Just wanted to create a thread to share memories of Dr. Chris Fletcher. He made such an impact on the field and on so many trainees - and was just a great guy to be around. He was one of the few attendings I knew who out there who really cared about his trainees - especially helping them with career choice and advancement.
His obituary is here.
 
Damn. He was great; FANTASTIC to listen to, smart as hell, and just fun to be at the scope with. 66 yrs young. WTF.
Anyone at "Man's Best Hospital" familiar with what happened? I thought he just retired? "...peacefully surrounded by family" sounds ominous, hopefully not cancer.
 
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I only ever saw him in interviews. He seemed like a genuinely good person.

His contributions to the oft-confusing subdiscipline of soft tissue pathology were groundbreaking.
 
One of the all-time greats, who left us way too soon. A wonderful speaker, whose delivery and wit made him a joy to watch/listen to.

Those who knew him will miss him. Those who didn't, missed out.
 
I will share a quote from one of the last cases I ever sent to Dr. Fletcher. It was a biopsy of a metastasis from carcinoma of unknown primary, which we sent out because our diagnosis differed significantly from the CancerTYPE ID result that one of our newer oncologists had ordered. Dr. Fletcher very kindly addressed this in his consult:

With regard to the Cancer TYPE ID result, I would only mention that there is nobody here at Brigham or Dana Farber that uses this testing and I know that this test is most often requested by oncologists. Over the years, we have seen many implausible results- I most clearly recollect a metastatic mucinous adenocarcinoma in an elderly patient in which the CANCER TYPE ID result indicated a 90% probability that the tumor was Ewing sarcoma. The oncologist at the original community hospital somewhere in the Midwest tried to berate me for failing to recognize Ewing sarcoma at that time.

My colleagues thought this was absolutely great (and hilarious). One of the oncologists involved in that case now brings this story from Dr. Fletcher up whenever anyone suggests getting a CancerTYPE ID (e.g. during tumor board).
 
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