Troubled Cancer Center Closing for Now: Departure of Parker Hughes’ Lone Oncologist Leaves Patients in the Lurch

By Jeremy Olson, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Feb. 23–ROSEVILLE — The Parker Hughes Cancer Center is suspending operations because of the loss of its lone oncologist, a move that is forcing patients to find other doctors as they battle a life-threatening disease.

The Roseville center sent letters to patients Tuesday announcing that Dr. Sandra Morar has resigned, effective March 14, to take a job with a cancer center in Illinois. While the clinic’s founder, Dr. Fatih Uckun, recently regained his medical license after a protracted state investigation into his practices, the restrictions on his license have prevented him from returning to the clinic as an oncologist.

Parker Hughes is searching for a new cancer specialist and hopes the disruption to patient care will last only a few weeks, said Nancy Dvorak, the clinic’s chief operating officer.

“Certainly, we’re hopeful we’ll have another clinician in here sooner rather than later,” she said. “The patients, obviously, are anxiously awaiting news that we will have an oncologist. They want to return as soon as possible.”

The letter gave patients the contact information for five other cancer clinics in the Twin Cities to which they could have their care transferred. Those clinics have been notified and are preparing for additional patients.

Losing care at Parker Hughes was distressing for Pat Larson. Other centers didn’t want to treat her husband several years ago, she said, because they didn’t think he’d survive his advanced kidney cancer. Now she wants to find another

center for Delane, her 68-year-old husband, that will give him a chance.

“I don’t want a grim and dim place,” she said. “With what I know, with the experiences I’ve had, I know what I’m going to go out and look for.”

The temporary closure is another stumble for Parker Hughes, which declared bankruptcy last year after the suspension of Uckun’s license and allegations he provided excessive care and false hope to patients. It was an abrupt turnaround for a clinic that was adding doctors and considering expanding its facilities five years ago.

A core group of patients and supporters celebrated last year when the clinic quickly emerged from its debt-ridden status, and then again when Uckun regained his license. Now, some wonder whether Parker Hughes will re-open — or whether Uckun will be part of its patient care. Many patients chose Parker Hughes because they thought it was more aggressive.

Those patients are now forced to turn to centers they didn’t want to go to in the first place, said Bob Spande, a former patient of Uckun’s who helped form the patient support group.

“There are several critically ill patients there who probably have very few options,” Spande said.

Restrictions on Uckun’s license require him to work in a group practice and to be supervised. The Minnesota Board of Medical Practice must approve the group and will likely require that he not supervise other doctors — as had been the case at Parker Hughes, said board executive director Robert Leach.

Uckun said he has complied with several board requirements — taking a medical ethics course, submitting written plans for his cancer drug research and selecting a doctor who will supervise his patient care.

Uckun no longer has an executive role with Parker Hughes, so one of his options is to join a separate practice and sever ties with the center he built. He also might try to join Parker Hughes as one doctor in a group practice, he said, perhaps even this spring.

Jeremy Olson can be reached at jolson@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5583.

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