Carolyn Freeman
Dr. Carolyn Freeman who retired in June 2024 was a Professor in the Departments of Oncology and Pediatrics at McGill University. She had served as Director of Radiation Oncology from 1978-2011 and from its inauguration in 1990 until 2023 held the Michael Rosenbloom Chair in Radiation Oncology.
Dr. Freeman received her medical degree from the Westminster Medical School in London, England in 1972 and undertook specialty training first at the Westminster Hospital and then in the McGill University postgraduate program. A radiation oncologist in practice for more than 40 years, she is known particularly for her expertise in the management of children with cancer and patients of all ages with sarcoma.
Areas of achievement of which she is especially proud:
Chair of Radiation Oncology at McGill 1979-2011 during which time the Radiation Oncology program became known nationally and internationally for excellence in clinical care and innovation as well as for its very strong education and training programs, in large part the result of close interprofessional relationships that she always fostered and supported.
Contributions to Radiation Oncology and to cancer care as a whole within Québec. As a member of the Comité consultatif sur le cancer of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) in the 1990s she contributed to the elaboration of the Programme québécoise de cancérologie. She was the 1st chair of the Comité national de radio-oncologie that was created by the MSSS at a time of crisis when facilities in Québec were inadequate and patients needing radiotherapy had to be sent to the USA for treatment. From 1999-2006 she worked directly with the MSSS to develop a long-term plan to address the situation that has been followed to this day. She has since served on several committees of the MSSS including most recently the Comité national de performance en cancérologie (as chair 2016-2019 and member 2019-2024).
Leadership roles in numerous national and international professional organizations including: elected member of the Conseil d’administration of the Collège des médecins du Québec; Chair of the Specialty Committee on Radiation Oncology of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Chair of the Radiotherapy Quality Assurance Committee of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group; member of the Fellowship Selection Committee of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. Finally, and not at all least, she was a founding member of two now vibrant societies: the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO) in 1988 (serving as its President 1993-1995) and the International Paediatric Radiation Oncology Society (PROS) in 2004 (President 2011-2014).
In 2022, Dr. Freeman was appointed Member of the Order of Canada “For her leadership in the field of pediatric radiation oncology and for her sustained efforts to improve the quality of cancer care in Quebec and across Canada”.