Interview With Dr. Robert Cooper, Oncologist to be Honored at Festival of Trees Kickoff

Ann’s Place and Praxair Cancer Center are joining in a special tribute to honor the extraordinary career of oncologist Dr. Robert Cooper.

Dr. Cooper agreed to an interview with Patch.

What made you want to go into oncology?

• Upon leaving the Army, I went to the University of Colorado Medical Center to train with Dr.Matthew Block, a renowned hematologist. The field of oncology was in its infancy, and I was asked to help develop the oncology program at UCMC. Building a program was exciting and being in a field which every day saw new theories and insights was intellectually challenging and thrilling. So, it was the academic aspect that originally enticed me.

How did you get connected to Ann’s Place?

• I cared for Ann, a beautiful young woman who succumbed to acute leukemia. Her husband, Ron Olsen, established a fund to help other patients with cancer in the Danbury area. Ron and I remained close, and when he remarried, his wife Wilda worked tirelessly to enhance the services of Ann’s Place to meet the needs of this community.

How did you/do you not get depressed from so many dying from the disease?

• Tough query. How much can one know unless you’ve walked in their shoes? Whether we realize it or not, life is a day by day proposition; no certainties, no guarantees.

What’s the best piece of advice you can give people currently battling cancer?

• Dealing with any life threatening or limiting illness, take out of each day what there is to enjoy. I’m staring out at the foliage and it makes my heart sing. Find humor! Every day offers something to learn and something to give.

What will you do in retirement?

• Retirement? I hope not! It’s another chapter for me.

Ann’s Place Festival of Trees and Dr. Cooper kickoff event will be held on Thursday, November 19 from 6.30 - 9.30 p.m. with a program at 7:15 p.m. honoring Dr. Robert Cooper. The event is being held at The Matrix Center is at 39 Old Ridgebury Road, Danbury.

Guests can bid on auction items and enjoy cocktails and dinner for $130 per person. Music will be performed by the Clark Eno Trio.

Reserve your tickets by clicking here.

Photo: Dr. Robert Cooper by Tom Kretch