As a longtime health care executive, Naomi Kelman knows the importance of being creative and open-minded to solve problems. That is why she and her husband, Attila Kelman, give regularly to the Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery in support of Ralph Tufano, director of the Division of Head and Neck Endocrine Surgery. The Kelmans have also included the department in their estate plans.

“The way Dr. Tufano and his team responded to my father’s situation made us advocates for the department,” says Naomi. “We want to enable others to get the kind of care that my father did.”

In early 2016, Naomi’s father, Harvey Kelman, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer that was threatening his larynx (voice box). While the cancer could be treated, Harvey was very concerned about maintaining his quality of life. As a physician with a specialty in psychoanalysis, Harvey had spent a lifetime listening to others. Now, he had one request that he wanted his Johns Hopkins care team to hear: Keep his voice.

Harvey was living in Fulton, Maryland, not far from where he and his late wife raised their four daughters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Naomi, his eldest daughter and her husband, who live in California, were visiting every four to six weeks to see Naomi’s dad.

“My dad loved cooking, especially baking with chocolate,” says Naomi. “He was a huge fan of Julia Child and The Great British Baking Show. We often joked that we’d come for a visit and leave many pounds heavier because he would test his recipes on us.”

Traditional thyroid cancer surgery would be especially tricky in Harvey’s case, given how far the cancer had spread and how close it was to his voice box. Plus, the standard treatment for thyroid cancer, radioactive iodine, was challenging because Harvey had an allergy to iodine.

“Dr. Tufano spent a lot of time talking through the options and listened carefully and respected what it was that my father wanted,” says Naomi. “In the end, Dr. Tufano did a very delicate surgery, and — in combination with follow-up radiation — my father had the quality of life that he wanted, and he was really happy about the results.”

Naomi and Attila credit Johns Hopkins and Dr. Tufano with giving them extra time with her father that they may not have had. He was able to continue doing the things he loved like gardening, cooking and spending time with his daughters and grandchildren.

Despite it being such a tough time for her family, Naomi says Johns Hopkins staff members cared for her father as an individual, and her family felt empathy, comfort and encouragement from the staff at a “very scary time.”

Today, Naomi says, “Our giving remains very much about my dad, Dr. Tufano and his team. We support the things they are doing to help people who are in similar situations, and want other people to have similar positive outcomes.”

Tufano says such support allows him and his team to do cutting-edge research. “Many of the pilot studies and initial projects to better personalize care and transform the way we deliver that care came about because of these relationships. All of my patients and I are forever grateful.”

To learn more about supporting the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, please call 410-955-0173.