Dr. John Sebastian Stehlin, Jr.

He is survived by his daughter Mary Cleary Stehlin, as well as his nephew, Robert F. Anderson, Jr., his wife Sally, and their children, Ashley Stehlin Pettibon and husband Keith, and Robert F. Anderson, III.

John S. Stehlin, Jr., was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, in 1923. After attending Notre Dame and receiving his M.D. from The Medical College of Wisconsin in 1947, he served an internship at Milwaukee Hospital (1949-52) a residency in pathology at Baptist Hospital in Memphis (1948-49), and surgery residencies at both Milwaukee Hospital (1949-52) and Lahey Clinic in Boston (1952-53). He served as a Captain in the United States Air Force from 1953-55, and was awarded the Commendation Ribbon.

Following Fellowships at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute and the Lahey Clinic, Dr. Stehlin became part of the full time surgical staff at M.D. Anderson Hospital in 1957. During his tenure at M.D. Anderson, he led the breast and melanoma treatment programs.

In 1967, Dr. Stehlin entered private practice focusing on his belief in treating patients rather than disease. John’s focus on the psychological, spiritual and emotional health of his patients was unusual, even radical, for the time. He was the first surgeon to write and publish an article concerning the psychological aspects of cancer therapy.

In 1969 he founded the Stehlin Foundation for Cancer Research (later to become the CHRISTUS Stehlin Foundation for Cancer Research) based on several key principles, including the tri-partnership collaboration of patient, researcher and physician for cancer therapy.

Based on his deep respect and affection for Sister Mary David Gorman and the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Dr. Stehlin formed an exclusive relationship with downtown Houston’s St. Joseph Hospital. Working with the Sisters, Dr. Stehlin was responsible for creating the Living Room, the first healing environment designed to support patients and families with art, music and emotional comfort. The Living Room served as the prototype for other cancer centers around the world.

Throughout his career, Stehlin remained a progressive and visionary physician, whose efforts eventually changed cancer treatment protocols. In the late 1950’s, he developed a complex surgical technique for colon cancer that dramatically improved the patient’s chances for recovery. Today, this technique is standard operating procedure.

John was also a leader in the development of regional intra-arterial chemotherapy, in which large concentrations of anticancer drugs can be delivered directly to specific organs or areas of the body where tumors are present. This protocol is used today by oncology surgeons worldwide.

Working with the director of the Stehlin laboratory, Beppino C. Giovanella, PhD, Dr. Stehlin was also the first to combine heat (hyperthermia) and chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced melanoma of the arms and legs, resulting in a 300 percent increase in survival rates and virtually eliminating the need for amputation. Today hyperthermia is considered the fourth grail of cancer treatment, along with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

In 1969 he was one of two surgeons in North America to recommend conservative treatment of selected breast cancer patients with a combination of partial mastectomy (lumpectomy) and immediate reconstruction, followed by radiotherapy. In 1990 the National Cancer Institute affirmed his non-radical, less mutilating treatment for breast cancer as its treatment of choice.

Dr. Stehlin’s approach and his achievements in the field of cancer treatment were recognized in a week-long spotlight on “Good Morning America” with David Hartman in 1978 and in an article in Life Magazine in 1980.

While taking medicine and science to new levels, John Stehlin also earned a reputation as a great communicator, based on his emphasis on listening, truthfulness and trust. Because of his humanitarian approach and his emphasis on hope, Dr. Stehlin formed strong relationships with his patients that lasted well past their treatment. Many of these patients and their family members joined the Friends of the Stehlin Foundation, a fundraising organization that continues to work to support the organization’s cancer research programs.

One of Dr. Stehlin’s priorities was reducing the time lag between the research bench and the patient’s bedside. In 1970, under the direction of Dr. Stehlin and Dr. Giovanella, the Stehlin laboratory became the first dedicated to the exclusive study of human cancers. Over 40 years, Dr. Stehlin authored or co-authored 500 major scientific papers, and working with his small team of scientists, pioneered several research techniques that became benchmarks in cancer research. The group developed a line of immunosuppressed mice regarded by the National Cancer Institute as the final nonhuman studies for all anticancer drugs, and conducted some of the world’s largest studies in liver, breast and DSRCT cancers.

Today more than 50 percent of the cells used in breast cancer research come from lines originally developed in the Stehlin laboratory.

On the drug development front, Dr. Stehlin and his colleagues contributed to the development of several key anticancer agents, including 5-Fluorouracil, Herceptin® and several derivatives of the promising anticancer drug camptothecin, one of which (CZ48) is currently in FDA-approved human clinical trials. Research continues at the CHRISTUS Stehlin Foundation for Cancer Research near the Texas Medical Center.

The Foundation also continues to host the Stehlin Foundation Educational Scholarship Program, founded in 1980 to provide practical experience and financial support to students interested in medical and research careers. To date, more than 250 high school and college students have participated in the program.

Dr. John Stehlin retired from clinical practice in 2002. Over his career he became a member or honorary member of more than 20 international professional societies. He was awarded the National Humanitarian Award from B’nai B’rith in 1982. In 1998 he received the Distinguished Surgeon award from the Houston Surgical Society; and in 1999 he was honored with The Merit Award for professionalism and contributions to medicine from Marquette Medical School at the University of Wisconsin.

In 1999 Dr. Stehlin and the Foundation were featured in The Best Medicine as a model of cooperation between doctor, research scientist, and patient. In 2000, he was recognized as one of Houston’s Millennium Makers for his many medical breakthroughs.

Stehlin is listed in the American Men of Science, the Dictionary of International Biography, Personalities in the South, the Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, the National Register of Prominent American and International Notables.

A memorial for visionary physician and healer Dr. John Stehlin will be held on Friday, June 14, 2013, at 10:30 AM at the Villa de Matel Convent, 6510 Lawndale Street, Houston, TX 77023. Friends, family and others whose lives were touched by John are cordially invited.

The Stehlin family wishes to thank Sr. Lillian Anne Healy and the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word for their generosity in offering the Villa de Matel for the service. The family also wants to express their deepest appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Harold Selzman for his exquisite care over many years, as well as to all the individuals who showed great devotion to John during his illness.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine, the CHRISTUS Stehlin Foundation for Cancer Research, or any personal charity of choice.