St. James School Co-Founder Dr. Audrey Evans was honored by Philadelphia Magazine as Trailblazer of the Year.
The honor, presented during their 13th annual luncheon, was held in Center City to an intimate invitation-only audience. During the luncheon, Dr. Evans was recognized not only for her tremendous work in child oncology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and for co-founding the first Ronald McDonald House, but also for her strength and ability to implement a proven educational model for children in need here in North Philadelphia.
After an exceptional and unparalleled 60-year career dedicated to the care of children with cancer, Audrey Evans, M.D., retired in 2009 and immediately placed her focus on St. James School.
Dr. Evans joined Children’s Hospital in 1969 as the first director and chief of the Division of Oncology, which was immediately followed by an array of seminal achievements. She was the first to develop a neuroblastoma staging system, the fundamental aspects of this system remaining in clinical use today. She was also the first to describe, along with Dr. Giulio D’Angio, the amazing phenomenon of spontaneous regression of widely disseminated neuroblastoma that she dubbed “4S disease.” Dr. Evans was the first to recognize the importance of the nursing, psychology, and social work disciplines to the care of children with cancer, and recruited individuals in these fields well before her peers. The current rich collaborative oncology programs with these disciplines in oncology at Children’s Hospital and elsewhere are due to her pioneering efforts.
Dr. Evans has received essentially every honor possible in the field of pediatric oncology, which include: the Janeway Award, the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Distinguished Career Award, an award from the American Cancer Society, the Spectrum Award of the American Red Cross, the Alpha Delta Kappa International Woman of the Year Award and the Osler Award from the University of Pennsylvania.
The 2013 Philadelphia Magazine Trailblazer Award marks one more recognition of Audrey’s consistent and superb care and concern for children most in need of first rate health care and education.
We thank Dr. Evans for her continued support in this mission and are forever grateful to her outstanding ability to see the road ahead each and every day. We applaud and second this prestigious award!
