Disclosure Information

In accordance with the ACCME Accreditation Criteria, the American College of Surgeons must ensure that anyone in a position to control the content of the educational activity (planners and speakers/authors/discussants/moderators) has disclosed all relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest (see below for definitions).

Commercial Interest

The ACCME defines a “commercial interest” as any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services used on or consumed by patients. Providers of clinical services directly to patients are NOT included in this definition.

Financial Relationships

Relationships in which the individual benefits by receiving a salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honoraria, ownership interest (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other financial benefit. Financial benefits are usually associated with roles such as employment, management position, independent contractor (including contracted research), consulting, speaking and teaching, membership on advisory committees or review panels, board membership, and other activities from which remuneration is received, or expected. ACCME considers relationships of the person involved in the CME activity to include financial relationships of a spouse or partner.

Conflict of Interest

Circumstances create a conflict of interest when an individual has an opportunity to affect CME content about products or services of a commercial interest with which he/she has a financial relationship.

The ACCME also requires that ACS manage any reported conflict and eliminate the potential for bias during the educational activity. Any conflicts noted below have been managed to our satisfaction. The disclosure information is intended to identify any commercial relationships and allow learners to form their own judgments. However, if you perceive a bias during the educational activity, please report it on the evaluation.

Presenters and Disclosures

Frederick L. Greene, MD, FACS  - No Disclosures

Frederick L. Greene, MD, FACS, received his medical school training at the University of Virginia and completed a residency in surgery at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Greene was also an American Cancer Society Clinical Research Fellow at Yale. Following residency, Dr. Greene served on active duty with the US Navy as surgeon aboard the USS Nimitz and at Portsmouth Naval Hospital. Dr. Greene was on the surgical faculty of the University of South Carolina from 1980 to 1997. He served as Chairman of the Department of General Surgery and Surgical Residency Program Director at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC, from 1997 to 2012. Dr. Greene is currently Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Heidi Nelson, MD, FACS  - No Disclosures

Heidi Nelson, M.D., is the Medical Director of Cancer Programs for the American College of Surgeons. She is emeritus chair of the Department of Surgery and past chair of the Division of Colon & Rectal Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Dr. Nelson is an emeritus member of the Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees and Mayo Clinic Board of Governors. She is the former director of the Microbiome Program through Mayo Clinic’s Center for Individualized Medicine.

Dr. Nelson’s career focused on advancing the care of patients with colorectal cancer through the advancement of new technologies, standardization and biologic studies. Her international research trial on laparoscopic colectomy versus open colectomy surgery for colon cancer re-defined best surgical practice in the approach to surgery for colon and rectal cancer patients.

Connie Bura  - No Disclosures

Connie Bura is the Administrative Director for Cancer Programs at the American College of Surgeons (ACS). She holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago. With more than 30-years’ experience in health care operations and association management, Ms. Bura’s experience includes oversight of accreditation programs that support cancer care delivery in more than 2,000 hospitals across the country. Ms. Bura also provided oversight for the recruitment, engagement and growth of membership in the American College of Surgeons. She currently leads a staff of more than 40 and works with volunteer leadership to develop and execute the strategic directions of the ACS Cancer Programs.

Ryan M. McCabe, PhD  - No Disclosures

Ryan McCabe has been the Senior Manager of the National Cancer Database since 2014. Previously, he was the Director of Clinical & Research Informatics for the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Before beginning work in health care research, Dr. McCabe was a software developer and entrepreneur. He completed a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota focusing on machine learning, computational modeling and validation, probability theory, and computational neuroscience. He has published research in the areas of chronic disease, medical informatics, and quality of life in cancer patients. He is interested in creating and integrating information tools for clinicians and patients with cancer to help inform the decision-making process of screening, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.

M. Asa Carter, MBA, CTR  - No Disclosures

Asa Carter is a Certified Tumor Registrar with 35 years of experience in numerous areas of the cancer registration field. She holds an MBA with a concentration in Health Care Administration from North Park University, Chicago, IL, and earned a BA in non-profit management from the same school.

A Cancer Programs staff member for 28 years, Asa currently serves as the Senior Manager for Education and Training. In this role, she works directly with program leadership and staff to develop and deliver education and training content to physicians, administrators, nurses, cancer registrars, and other health care professionals across all Cancer Programs areas.