Harry F. Bisel,

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

(1918–1994) was an American

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

. With Fred Ansfield, Herman Freckman, Arnoldus Goudsmit, Robert Talley, William Wilson, and Jane Wright, was one of the founding members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). This group of pioneering doctors, through the formation of ASCO, is largely credited with the development of modern American clinical oncology. In 1964, Bisel was elected the first president of ASCO. He was active in the American Cancer Society and was a consultant to the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

. Bisel was a founding member of the American Society of Preventive Oncology as well as the American Association for Cancer Education.

Life and education

He was born on June 17, 1918 in

Manor, Pennsylvania Manor is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,239 at the 2010 census. Manor was born from the railroad stop, Manor Station, into the borough it is today. Geography Manor is located at (40.335854, -7 ...

. He attended Peabody High School and the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

. There, he received the MD degree in 1942. Dr. Bisel did graduate work at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

. He was one of the first trainees to graduate from the Memorial

Sloan-Kettering Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

Medical Neoplasia Center. In 1971, Dr. Bisel received the Hench Award from the

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is a medical school of the University of Pittsburgh, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The School of Medicine, also known as Pitt Med, is consistently ranked as a "Top Medical School" by '' ...

. He was in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

from 1942 to 1978, and on active duty from 1943 to 1947. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was a flight surgeon and was awarded three

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for action in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. Dr. Bisel was the first formally trained oncologist hired by the Mayo Clinic. He was on staff from 1963 until he retired in 1983. He founded the Mayo Clinic Section of Medical Oncology, and was chairmen from 1963 to 1972. He also served as a faculty member of the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine and the

Mayo Medical School The Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine (MCASOM), formerly known as Mayo Medical School (MMS), is a research-oriented medical school based in Rochester, Minnesota, with additional campuses in Arizona and Florida. MCASOM is a school within the M ...

. He married Sara C. Bisel and had three children: Jane, Clark and Harold.

Selected review papers

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bisel, Harry 1918 births 1994 deaths People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania American oncologists People from Rochester, Minnesota University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Harvard Medical School alumni 20th-century American physicians