The History of Cancer
Helen Chew
Internal Medicine
Helen Chew grew up in El Paso, Texas. She attended Stanford University (BS Biology) and earned her medical degree at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, TX, where she also completed training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. In 2000, Dr. Chew and her husband joined the faculty of the UC Davis School of Medicine. She is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and a breast medical oncologist at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she leads the clinical breast cancer program. Her research interests are in testing novel treatments for breast cancer.
Dr. Chew served as the Hematology/Oncolgy Fellowship Program Director from 2010-2021. In this role, she oversaw the training of Internal Medicine doctors who wished to specialize in the care of cancer patients.
Mark Henderson
Internal Medicine
Mark Henderson is Professor of Internal Medicine at UC Davis School of Medicine and the Dean’s Endowed Chair in Teaching Excellence. He has over 25 years of medical education experience and has edited several popular textbooks including The Patient History: an evidence-based approach to differential diagnosis. His scholarly work has been funded by the American Medical Association and involves medical workforce development, community-based primary care training, and diversity in healthcare.
Dr. Henderson has traveled extensively throughout Spain and Latin America and done medical work in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Paraguay. He previously served as Medical Director for the Sacramento Chapter of Amigos de las Americas, a volunteer organization that trains high-school students to conduct community service projects in Latin America.
A Message to Students and Parents
This course blends our interests in cancer and healthcare with our love for the Spanish language and culture. Having grown up in El Paso, TX, on the border with Ciudad Juarez, Helen’s family lived in a predominantly Mexican American neighborhood where she was exposed to the Spanish language throughout her childhood. Mark traveled to Mexico as a teen and Paraguay as a medical volunteer with Amigos de las Americas before attending medical school in San Francisco. Both Mark and Helen did residency training in south Texas, working with a predominantly Spanish-speaking population for over 10 years before moving to UC Davis in 2000. We love traveling to Spain and Latin American with our children and friends. We look forward once again to exploring the field of cancer in historic and societal contexts with students in this beautiful part of Spain."