Soon after Deborah Lathen arrived in the operating room for her procedure, the surgeon sat down next to her. “What’s your favorite song?” he asked. She told him it is What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. He played the song on his phone while he held her hand and the anesthesia took effect.   

“From the beginning, I knew Dr. Johnston was a compassionate person,” says Lathen, a telecommunications and corporate attorney who operates a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. “As I got to know him better, I realized he is a passionate person too.”

Lathen had a rare cancer in her abdomen that was removed by Fabian Johnston, M.D., M.H.S., a Johns Hopkins oncology surgeon, in September 2018. Since then, Lathen has followed up with Johnston regularly and has remained cancer free. Over the course of her visits, Lathen learned about Johnston’s health equity research, and was inspired to ask her personal and professional connections to support his studies.

Johnston, who has a master’s degree in health science, wants to increase the use of palliative care by seriously ill members of underrepresented minorities, a group that is 20% to 50% less likely than white people to access or receive those services. He recently completed a pilot study on the feasibility of community health care workers to increase referrals of African Americans with advanced cancer to palliative care and advance care planning. Palliative care manages bothersome symptoms like pain and can provide mental or emotional support. Advance care planning helps with writing advanced directives and enrolling in hospice care. 

“I’ve seen the burden of disease that minority populations face during the cancer journey,” says Johnston. “The biggest issue is always at the end of life. After someone suffers from health disparities throughout their life, I find the worst indignity is not being able to get care consistent with your wishes and goals at the end of your life. That’s why I focus on palliative care, to address the low utilization of this care.”

Lathen started sharing information about Johnston’s research with her close friends, colleagues, and former college roommates and classmates, and asked them to help fund his work. On her behalf, numerous people have written checks to Johns Hopkins in support of Johnston’s studies.

Johnston’s mission is personal for Lathen. “I saw my great grandmother go blind, have a leg amputated and die at 60 years old,” she says. “I feel grateful to be able to enjoy a longer life span than so many of my beloved elders who were affected by lack of access to adequate health care or by affordability issues.” 

Adds Johnston, “Deborah has helped spread the word about the research, and that partnership is invaluable. Since the pandemic began, it has forced everyone to appraise what is optimal care and how we can obtain it.”

In August 2021, Johnston received a grant from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to continue the work that Lathen has helped sustain. 

To support Fabian Johnston’s health equity research, visit bit.ly/surgerygift