Gastrointestinal & Liver Specialists of Tidewater (GLST) – Chesapeake
In his more than 15 years of volunteer work with the American Cancer Society (ACS), Dr. Bruce Waldholtz has fought for the principle that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to prevent or survive cancer.
The longtime Chesapeake gastroenterologist – himself a 21-year cancer survivor – has reached out to people of all incomes, races and ethnicities with critical information on recommended screenings, risk prevention, and resources to overcome barriers to quality care.
This spring, Dr. Waldholtz was honored with the ACS 2020 Volunteer Leadership Award, a prestigious national recognition of his leadership on colorectal cancer awareness projects at national, state and local levels.
“It was an absolute shock,” he says. “I’m just grateful that the ACS has long viewed health equity as a major focus area. There’s no reason that anyone’s birth circumstances or zip code should determine access to tests and treatments. That’s simply not fair.”
Dr. Waldholtz has held several prominent posts within the ACS, including a term as chair of its South Atlantic Regional Board. In 2018, he joined the ACS CAN (Cancer Action Network) board, a nonpartisan advocacy affiliate that lobbies for ACS legislative priorities.
One recent success was Congress’ passage of the Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act of 2019, which aims to draw more patients from underrepresented communities into clinical trials. ACS CAN has also pushed for better palliative care training programs, Medicaid expansion, and taxes on cigarettes.
In Virginia, Dr. Waldholtz helped launch five statewide roundtable discussions in 2015 on strategies to increase colon cancer screening rates as part of a nationwide ACS campaign. He also speaks to local African American clergy and church congregations about breast and colon cancer screenings, and risk factors such as family history, obesity and inactivity.
“There are so many opportunities to make a difference,” Dr. Waldholtz notes. “You want to teach people to teach others in their lives. People will listen to those they trust.”
As an expert on updated ACS screening guidelines, Dr. Waldholtz makes frequent media appearances. This March, he mobilized seven Hampton Roads police chiefs to film a social media campaign for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, noting that southeastern Virginia is a hot spot for higher-than-average mortality rates.
A Pittsburgh native, Dr. Waldholtz completed his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Pittsburgh. He went on to an Internal Medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and a Gastroenterology fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is Board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology.
Since 1988, Dr. Waldholtz has practiced with Gastroenterology Associates, a division of GLST. His specialty areas include hereditary polyps and colon cancer syndromes, hiatal hernias, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and inflammatory bowel diseases. He also is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School and has helped expand palliative care training opportunities for students.
Dr. Waldholtz, a married father of three, first became involved with the ACS Relay for Life fundraiser in 2006 to honor his mother, who had breast cancer twice, and his grandfather, who died of lung cancer. That same year, he was invited to speak at the African American Men’s Forum at Norfolk State University.
ACS is the second-leading funder of cancer research behind the federal government, Dr. Waldholtz notes: “We need to start getting money to young researchers again, as we begin to move past COVID-19. They can make a real difference in the future of cancer care.”
As Dr. Waldholtz tends to his own patients, then, his volunteer work and advocacy for ACS – for all cancer patients – will remain a major part of his life.
“We’ve got a lot to do,” he says. “We’re just getting started.”
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