Solarz widow looking for Filipino doctor to support

The widow of US Congressman Stephen J. Solarz, a critic of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ leadership, is in the country to launch a search for a Filipino doctor with the potential to become a cancer treatment specialist.

On a mission that her late husband would have been proud of, Nina Solarz and members of her family are in the country in the hope that their search for a recipient of an international fellowship would yield a real talent so more Filipino physicians can get the chance to learn current high-level cancer research methods.

“We have come here to find a fine, talented, young Filipino doctor,” said Solarz upon her arrival Thursday.

Fellowship

The chosen Filipino doctor is to be the third recipient of an international fellowship at the Thoracic and Gastrointestinal Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute in Maryland.

The two-year fellowship will be paid for by the Stephen J. Solarz Memorial Fund which supports cancer research at the US National Institutes of Health.

The late US congressman was  treated for cancer by a team of doctors at the institute. He died in November 2010.

“The Philippines meant so much to my husband as it does to my family… We are very excited that we will be involved in this endeavor because it would have meant so much to my husband,” she said.

“My husband (Stephen) did so much in the Philippines to make sure democracy will be secured and that human rights and human dignity will be secured,” she recalled.

Marcos critic

The late US congressman from New York was among the members of the US Congress who backed the Ninoy Aquino Movement (NAM), the biggest group opposing martial law in the country.

The US congressman was described as a strong critic of President Marcos, helping restore democracy in the Philippines through his speeches and statements against the human rights violations and corruption during the Marcos regime.

The Solarz couple were friends of the late President Corazon Aquino, the mother of President Aquino.

“The candidate we choose will have the unique opportunity to learn about the most current research techniques in cancer research,” Solarz told reporters.

The Stephen J. Solarz Memorial Fund for Cancer Research was set up “so that other patients might benefit” from better treatment, said Nina Solarz.

She said  that the first fellow, Dr. Elvin Hekimoglu, is from Turkey and the second, Dr. Shih-Hsin Hsiao, from Taiwan.

Filipino fellow

“We hope that the Filipino doctor chosen does extremely well so we can have more from fellows from the Philippines,” she said.

Solarz said she and Dr. David Schrump, head of the Thoracic and Gastrointestinal Oncology Branch of the National Institute of Health Center for Cancer Research, will be meeting with hospital administrators, staff and doctors as well as heads for medical schools in the country.

She said Schrump will be interviewing and screening candidates for the international fellowship program during their stay in the country.

Solarz said she was happy to be back in the country after her last visit four years ago for the 25th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution.

Solarz was welcomed by NAM founding head Heherson Alvarez at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 1, where Solarz placed a wreath at the Ninoy Aquino marker commemorating the Aug. 21, 1983, assassination of the late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.