Atkins named to Best Doctor list
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on April 13, 2004 1:57 PM
Dr. James Atkins of Southeastern Medical Oncology Center has again been chosen by his peers as one of the best cancer doctors in the country.
For two years in a row, Atkins will be listed on the "Best Doctors" website one of the top oncologists. Last year, 18 oncologists in the nation made the list.
Best Doctors surveys thousands of specialists worldwide, asking them which doctors they would seek for treatments in that specialty. More than one million evaluations are processed, with only 30,000 doctors, about 4 percent all of U.S. doctors, selected for the honor.
Atkins has 20 years of medical oncology experience. He founded the center in Goldsboro in 1991 and has since opened offices in Clinton and Wilson.
He is a clinical associate professor at Wake Forest University and director of Southeastern Cancer Control Consortium, one of the largest cancer research organizations in the southeast.
He was also notified by the American Society of Clinical Oncology that he will be recognized in June for his work to promote clinical research and clinical trials.
He will be one of six from across the nation honored by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project for his involvement in breast cancer prevention trials and research.
He recently visited Paris and presented information on his work with the breast-and-bowel project, and said he is currently working on the study of a new drug for patients who deal with narcotic-induced constipation. He is often called upon to speak around the country about the advantages of clinical trials.
"We're working on trying to educate not only physicians but the public about the need for clinical trials and clinical research, how they save lives and how they can save money," he said.
"That's been the goal from the beginning, to let people have access to state-of-the-art clinical trials because that's the cutting edge of medicine."
He said it has been important to him for people in Wayne County to have access to things that a lot of people in the country do not. Despite Goldsboro's rural appeal, he said, it is receiving national recognition for its strides in medicine.
"I can assure you that there are many people throughout the United States who are very aware of a lot of what goes on in this community from a cancer perspective," he said.