David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation Patient Support Fund

From left to right: Lora Rhodes, LCSW, Michelle Phillip, Adam Luginbuhl, MD, David Caldarella, David Cognetti, MD, and Danielle Corso

November 11, 2010, I heard the words every patient diagnosed with cancer wants to hear: “There’s No Evidence of Disease!” Those amazing words were uttered by the same surgeon who had to inform me I had Stage IV Head and Neck cancer in April 2010. Dr. David Cognetti and I have been able to share many milestones together along the way since 2010 including our joint service for the National Institute of Health’s Head and Neck Steering Committee, a Haiti Mission Trip, the 2020 Head and Neck Cancer Symposium and Dr. Cognetti’s recent promotion to Chairperson of the Department of Otolaryngology, but most importantly family outings to the annual Villanova University/Georgetown University basketball game in Philadelphia. A lifelong friendship was born out of a horrible cancer diagnosis. I am beyond grateful to share that same bond with many members of the Jefferson Health Department of Otolaryngology, Medical Oncology and Infusion Center & Jefferson Radiation Oncology at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.

Dr. Cognetti and the entire team have also played a critical role in supporting David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation over the past 10 years. We share something else incredibly special beyond our friendships. It is a shared vision and commitment to improve the lives of patients and their families from the moment of a cancer diagnosis. Our Foundation recently gifted a financial contribution to the Department of Otolaryngology at Jefferson to establish the David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation Patient Support Fund. The goal of the fund is to provide a life preserver to patients facing overwhelming financial burdens. We are grateful for this partnership and that the mission of DDBCF has been adopted for this fund.

It has always been about patients and their families, and this partnership will allow us to continue to serve New Jersey residents as they receive cancer care in Pennsylvania.

David Caldarella
Stage IV Head and Neck Cancer Survivor
DDBCF Co-Founder/CEO

2017 Beacon of Hope Award Recipient: Dr. David M. Cognetti

 

2017 BEACON OF HOPE AWARD RECIPIENT:

David M. Cognetti, MD, FACS
Associate Professor and Co-Director, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University

In recognition of an outstanding individual or agency instrumental in filling hearts with HOPE and shining a LIGHT in the darkness of cancer. We are proud and honored to recognize Dr. David M. Cognetti of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia with our “BEACON OF HOPE AWARD!

Dr. Cognetti was born and raised in Scranton, Pa (where all roads meet.)  He is the second tallest of nine children.  He and his siblings spent their childhood rooting against the Philadelphia Eagles and vacationing down the shore in Ocean City, NJ.  He currently serves as the Co-director of the Jefferson Center for Head and Neck Surgery.  At Jefferson, he initiated (with the help of dedicated colleagues and tremendous nursing teams) programs in Transoral Robotic Surgery as well as Sialendoscopy, both of which are innovative technologies that eliminate the need for radical open surgery. Both programs were one of the earliest of their kind in the United States and are currently among the busiest in the country.

Dr. Cognetti received his BS in Biology from Georgetown University, where he made an unsuccessful walk-on bid for the men’s basketball team.  He received his MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where his future wife scored higher than him on all medical school exams and achieved a contested victory over him in a 10k race.  He completed a residency in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University before completing a fellowship in Advanced Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.  Dr. Cognetti returned to Jefferson, his professional home, as faculty in 2008.

Dr. Cognetti has served many leadership roles at the institutional, regional, and national levels.  He completed the Jefferson Leadership Academy and currently serves as the chair of the Operating Room Committee at Jefferson. He serves as the Secretary/Treasurer for the Pennsylvania Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.  He is the chair of the Head and Neck Surgery Education Committee for the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and the co-chair of the History Committee of the Endocrine Surgery Section of the American Head and Neck Society.  He also serves on the Head and Neck Steering Committee Rare Tumors Task Force for the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute.  He has received a Castle Connolly Top Doc Award for the past three years.  Above all, he is tirelessly committed to the care of patients, in Philadelphia, Haiti, and beyond, and he is constantly looking at ways to improve systems and outcomes.   He currently resides in Penn Valley, PA with his supportive wife, Missy, and their three strong and independent daughters, Julia, Claire, and Sophia.