John M. Fitzpatrick

John M. Fitzpatrick (15 July 1948 - 14 May 2014) was an Irish urologist, known for his pioneering work on the field of men's prostate cancer.^[1][2]

Early life

Fitzpatrick was born on July 15, 1948. His father was a prominent Dublin lawyer and his mother's family had a strong medical history. Before going to University College Dublin, Fitzpatrick travelled a lot. With a teenage friend he travelled to Egypt, Jordan and Syria and at the age of 19 visited Czechoslovakia, just before the Prague Spring of 1968. He won a scholarship to do greats at Oxford University, but chose to go to medical school in Dublin instead. In 1971 he qualified in Medicine of University College Dublin.

Career

Fitzpatrick was among the first in Ireland and Britain to embrace the surgical removal of the prostate if prostate cancer was still confined to the gland, and successfully cured many men.^[2]

In the past decade, Fitzpatrick worked on developing two second-line treatments, enzalutamide and abiraterone, which both have shown to extend the lives of men whose cancer has relapsed after initial hormone therapy with only modest side effects. He was also involved in the introduction of taxane-based chemotherapy to use for men whose cancer had spread, and were no longer responding to first-resort hormonal therapies.

Fitzpatrick was emeritus professor of surgery at the University College Dublin School of Medicine & Medical Science^[3] and Head of Research at the Irish Cancer Society^[4]

Personal life

Fitzpatrick has two brothers, a lawyer and a general practitioner.^[5]

Death

On 14 May 2014, Fitzpatrick was taken ill in his own gym at home, and died of Subarachnoid haemorrhage. He is survived by his wife Carol (née O’Donohue), their daughter and two sons.

References