Holcombe E. Grier, Class of 1968

Introduction of Holcombe Grier written and presented by Samantha Murray, Class of 2009.

Look around. Surrounding you are your peers and friends - happy, healthy teenagers with goals and dreams just like you. Because of cancer, some kids don't get the chance to be happy, healthy teenagers. Now more kids get that chance because of Holcombe Grier. Since graduating from Oxford High School, Dr. Grier has dedicated his life to researching pediatric cancer.

Dr. Grier graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, received his Master's Degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and then trained at the University of North Carolina. Today he is the Associate Chief of Pediatric Clinical Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. This title is as important as it sounds.

When Dr. Grier was beginning his career, the cure rates for pediatric cancer were about 20 percent. Now, due mostly to the research Dr. Grier and his colleagues have done, the cure rates for some forms of pediatric cancer have gone up to 80 percent.

Dr. Grier specializes in several types of bone cancer, such as Ewing's Sarcoma, Osteosarcoma and Rhabdomyosarcoma, as well as Oncology, the study of cancer and tumors. He has done important research on the detection and treatment of Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer found mostly in teenagers and young adults. He has also done research on end-of-life care of children with cancer.

During research, Dr. Grier urges his colleagues to be open with their ideas and discoveries, which has contributed to their success. He has had research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Journal of Pediatric Oncology, and the New England Journal of Medince. This writing focuses mostly on his research of bone cancer, but also includes some writing he has done on the "effect a cancer diagnosis has on every member of the family."

In 1992, Dr. Grier received the Janeway Award for Excellence in Teaching from Harvard Medical School. Also in 2008, he got the chance to throw out a first pitch at a game for his favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. Today he is the Vice President of the American Society of Pediatric Hermatology-Oncology and serves on the Executive Committee of the Children's Oncology Group.

The chldren that Dr. Grier works with do not remember these big words or fancy titles. They remember his optimism, his smile, his cool bowties and his banjo. And we remember that before his success, he was once a student just like us.