Margo Shoup, MD, MBA, FACS has joined Orlando Health as the new President of Orlando Health Cancer Institute (OHCI) and Vice President of Orlando Health, where she will have oversight of the organization’s oncology services and strategic growth and development efforts. 

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF. 
I am the youngest of three siblings and grew up in the Boston area before moving to Indianapolis with my family. I attended college in Colorado Springs and spent most of my adult life in the Chicago suburbs. I’ve been married for 31 years, and we have two grown children. 

I enjoy active vacations with my family - walking, hiking and being on the water. We once spent eight days on a river rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. It was an absolute blast, even for teenagers. 

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GET INTO HEALTHCARE? 
I was a competitive pairs figure skater until the age of 21. During those years, I suffered many injuries and often depended upon my orthopedic surgeon for help. I was fascinated by his ability to not only help me physically, but I was also greatly impacted by his care for me as a person and his determination to not let an injury stand in the way of my goals. When I started college, I immediately focused on medicine because I realized the long-term positive impact physicians can have from a physical, mental and emotional standpoint. 

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO ONCOLOGY AND WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST ROLE? 
As a medical student, my first clinical rotation was with surgical oncology. I absolutely fell in love with surgery. I later became highly passionate about patient care and the constantly evolving aspect of oncology. 

My first oncology position was as a practicing surgical oncologist at Loyola University Medical Center after completing a fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. When I started, there was no division of surgical oncology; we were all part of general surgery. My first initiative was to develop a division of surgical oncology. This truly changed the way patients were being treated in a subspecialty model. 

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO AS THE LEADER OF ORLANDO HEALTH CANCER INSTITUTE? 
Our cancer teams are amongst the best in the country, and I am thrilled to be part of such a great institution. I am looking forward to getting to know the people here so I can have a better understanding of their goals individually and as a group. I am also looking forward to advancing our technology and adding more unique programs, so patients can benefit from care that is not only of the highest quality, but also cutting edge. As a cancer survivor myself, I can appreciate being on the receiving end of treatment. I am determined that each of our patients have a great experience during what is otherwise the hardest time of their lives. 

WHICH NEW OR EXPANDED PROGRAMS WILL BE YOUR FIRST TO FOCUS ON? 
Having recently added a bone marrow transplant program led by nationally renowned leader Yasser Khaled, MD, we are now equipped to offer the same full spectrum of services seen in top academic centers. Looking to the future, we will turn our focus towards enhancing and expanding our care for the growing population. I am excited about how we can transform cancer care by bringing subspecialties and technology to our regional sites located across the state, which would provide the same high level of service for the most common types of cancer closer to home. In the research field, we will continue our focus on clinical trials, and plan to conduct additional research leading to novel therapeutic modalities for our patients. Our institute is actively recruiting physicians in these areas, bringing new expertise to our hospitals. 

WHY IS PHILANTHROPY IMPORTANT IN HEALTHCARE? 
Philanthropy helps us provide the most advanced care possible including ancillary services, behind-the-scenes data analytics and quality infrastructure, so that everything we do is what is best for the patient. It can be easy to get wrapped up in the financial return of investments, but my goal is to offer the highest quality care possible, with the best patient experience possible, and we need additional funds to be able to do this. 

HOW DOES PHILANTHROPY DIRECTLY IMPACT PATIENT CARE AT ORLANDO HEALTH CANCER INSTITUTE? 
Philanthropy provides our cancer institute with the type of facilities and services needed to continue enhancing our care and offer ground-breaking research. Philanthropic support will enable our vision to be a nationally recognized cancer program by providing a full spectrum of high-quality care, which will better position us to recruit top physicians. 

DO YOU HAVE A MESSAGE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH CANCER INSTITUTE DONORS? 
I would like to thank the donors for their support. We are amid a very exciting time, as we have great physicians and staff and the commitment from our leadership to enhance cancer care for our patients. With continued support, I am confident we can build upon what we already have, to give patients a reason to stay in Orlando for their care and become a destination site for cancer treatment.