MedStar Health Receives $2M Investment to Advance Highly Specialized Heart Care for Cancer Patients

Philanthropist Genevieve L. Murphy offers a new gift to the J.D. Murphy Jr. Cardio-Oncology fellowship, named for her late husband.

COLUMBIA, Md —MedStar Health is pleased to announce the continuation and expansion of the J.D. Murphy Jr. Cardio-Oncology Fellowship, made possible by a generous gift from philanthropist Genevieve L. Murphy. The advanced training program prepares cardiologists to provide specialized care to heart patients who are also battling cancer. It is one of just 10 programs in the country offering training in the field of cardio-oncology.

“Cardio-oncology addresses the critical needs of patients whose heart health may be complicated by necessary cancer treatments like chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy,” said Gregory J. Argyros, MD, president of MedStar Washington Hospital Center and senior vice president of MedStar Health. “We express our immense gratitude to Genevieve for helping us share our cardio-oncology expertise with new doctors, so they can grow the practice of this important and life-saving care.”

A generous gift from Ms. Murphy established the J.D. Murphy Jr. Cardio-Oncology Fellowship at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in 2021. The fellowship is named for her late husband, James Daniel “J.D.” Murphy, Jr., a grateful patient who served as a board member at the hospital and past chair of the philanthropy committee. J.D. also received cardiology and oncology care at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

“Like my husband, I invest in areas that align with my values,” Murphy said. “Access to quality healthcare for all, regardless of race, income, or neighborhood - is one of those values.”

Ms. Murphy says she also favors programs that can be measured for effectiveness. Over the past two years, nearly 1,000 new and returning patients living with both heart disease and cancer have been able to access cardio-oncology services offered at MedStar Washington and MedStar Georgetown. According to program leaders, plans are underway to expand its services to the Baltimore region in the near future.

“At launch, MedStar Health’s Cardio-Oncology program was the first of its kind in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., region” said Allen J. Taylor, MD, program director and chair of Cardiology for MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute. “Thanks to Genevieve’s latest contribution, a transformative $2 million gift, the program will continue to train additional physicians in the Cardio-Oncology sub-specialty.”

“Fellowship training in cardio-oncology offers a rare opportunity to care for patients at the intersection of two complex fields that increasingly define modern medicine,” said current J.D. Cardio-Oncology fellow, Moises Vasquez, MD. “I pursued training in this specialty because patients with cancer deserve cardiovascular care that matches the sophistication of their oncologic treatment. I am so grateful to MedStar Health for offering this training and to Genevieve Murphy for endowing this special program.”