Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital Clinical Leadership

Our nursing staff includes:
Tarshae Robinson, RN; Jessica
Perkins, RN; & Thelma Brown, CNA

Our team includes medical and surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, dermatologists, gynecologists, internists, pathologists, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, primary care physicians, pulmonologists, radiologists, general surgeons and urologists. We put a high priority on having a nursing staff that is both compassionate and highly trained. Many of our nurses have the specialized training required to be oncology certified nurses, which means they have pursued advanced education in oncology care and show a commitment to their patients and their profession.

Thomas J. Eichler, MD
Director of Radiation Oncology
Chair, Multidisciplinary Cancer Committee

Dr. Eichler is the Medical Director of the Johns Radiation Oncology Center, Chairman of the Multidisciplinary Cancer Committee and a member of the Medical Executive Committee.

He is Chair of the Communications Committee, a member of the Health Policy Committee and Chair of the Local Coverage Determination (LCD) Workgroup for the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. He is past-President of the Mid-Atlantic Society of Radiation Oncology and a member of the American Brachytherapy Society. Dr. Eichler is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and received his MD from the Medical College of Virginia where he completed an internship in general surgery and a residency in radiation oncology. He has completed additional training at the Seattle Prostate Institute, Emory University and the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Eichler’s clinical interests include breast brachytherapy, prostate seed implants, and stereotactic radiosurgery. 

Sam D. Graham, Jr., MD
Medical Director of the Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital

Dr. Sam D Graham, Jr. is the Medical Director of the Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital and chair of the Oncology Executive Committee.

He is the Editor of Glenn’s Urologic Surgery, course director for the Masters in Urology CME conference and the Richmond Urologic Forum. He holds a Clinical Professorship in Surgery (Urology) at VCU Medical Center (Richmond VA), is on the Medical Center Operating Board at the University of Virginia (Charlottesville VA), and currently is employed by CJW Medical Center and leads the Urologic Specialists of Richmond group.

Dr. Graham is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Medicine with training in General Surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital and Urology at Duke University. Dr. Graham completed a fellowship in Immunology at the National Jewish Hospital (Denver) and Duke University. He was on the faculty at Emory University from 1982-1998 and while there established the Urologic Research Laboratory and was the Chairman of Urology (Lewis McDonald Orr Chair) for 9 years.

Dr. Graham’s clinical interests include breast brachytherapy and prostate seed implants. Dr. Graham's responsibilities to the TJCH are to organize the overall effort, establish guidelines and processes to promote high quality cancer care and research, and to start or promote unique programs that further the mission of the TJCH.

Lawrence Lewkow, MD
Medical Director of Oncology

Dr. Lewkow has been with the Virginia Cancer Institute since 1993, and has been chief of medical oncology since 1999.

He is also co-chair of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee, chair of the Johns Foundation Board of Trustees, and a member of the medical executive committee and the multidisciplinary cancer committee. Dr. Lewkow received his bachelor's degree from Cornell University and his medical degree from New York Medical College. 

D. Michael Rose, MD
Medical Director of Surgical Oncology

Dr. Michael Rose is the director of Surgical Oncology for the Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital.  He received his medical degree from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and completed a General Surgery residency at Vanderbilt, during which time he completed two years of research in Surgical Oncology. A year of this research was at the Surgical Metabolism Laboratory at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He then performed a two year Senior Clinical Fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, California.

For four years prior to joining Surgical Associates of Richmond, he served as Chief of Surgical Oncology at Keesler USAF Medical Center. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a Fellow of the Society of Surgical Oncology. His clinical interests include the multimodal management of solid tumors including thyroid cancer, melanoma, breast cancer, sarcoma, and GI cancers (esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, and colon).

K. Singh Sahni, M.D.
Cheif of Neurosurgery & Gamma Knife® Medical Director

Dr. Sahni is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and is an American College of Surgeons Fellow. He has been published in numerous medical journals and has spoken internationally on neuroscience subjects. After completing his residency at the Medical College of Virginia in 1983, Dr. Sahni served as assistant professor of neurosurgery and director of stereotactic and functional surgery at MCV until 1988. He joined CJW in 1989, where he has served as chief of neurosurgery.

Dr. Sahni has performed more than 2,000 procedures on patients with trigeminal neuralgia in over 20 years. His other areas of interest include gamma knife, hemifacial spasm, pituitary tumors and skull-based tumors like acoustic neuroma tumors.

Danna E. Johnson, MD
Chief of Pathology

Dr. Danna E. Johnson serves as Chief of Pathology for the TJCH andis a member of the Multidisciplinary Cancer and Operating Room Committees, leads the Quality Assurance for Anatomic Pathology services at CJW Medical Center, and serves on the Oncology Executive Committee.

She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Anatomic Pathology, with subspecialty certification in Cytopathology. Her publications include 30 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and 9 book chapters. Dr. Johnson developed and maintains the synoptic templates for cancer reporting according to College of American Pathology and NCCN guidelines, and has instituted a protocol for microsatellite instability testing in appropriate instances according to revised Bethesda criteria. Dr. Johnson completed her BA degree at Mount Holyoke College, and obtained her Medical Degree from the State University of New York at Upstate Medical Center. After an internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Miami Affiliated Hospitals, Dr. Johnson completed residency in anatomic pathology and fellowship in surgical pathology at Stanford University. These were followed by a cytopathology clinical instructorship at the Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Johnson was an Assistant Professor of Pathology at MCV for 6 years prior to joining to medical staff of CJW Medical Center.

Dr. Johnson's clinical interests include with focus on setting up and maintaining a tissue and serum tissue bank. 

Karen Roesser, RN, MS, AOCN
Oncology Nurse Specialist

Ms. Roesser has more than 20 years of experience as an oncology nurse. She is a leader on the local and national level, and has given presentations to groups around the country and published articles in the Oncology Nursing Forum and the California Nursing Review.

Roesser has also has helped develop two videos, "Introduction to Oncology Nursing" and "Introduction to Oncology Nursing for the Medical/Surgical Nurse," that are used by HCA hospitals nationwide.

Karen is also a member of the High Risk Team. She meets with individuals and families affected by colon and/or endometrial cancer to assess their cancer risk and educate them on their options for genetic testing and risk reduction.

Dr. Tahira Naviwala
Palliative Care Specialist

Dr. Naviwala is a dedicated fellow trained specialist of Palliative Care services.  Dr. Naviwala earned her medical degree from Sind Medical College, Karachi University Pakistan. She completed a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Virginia Health System and an additional fellowship in Palliative Care from South Texas Veteran Healthcare System in San Antonio. She has great passion for patient care and works closely with our physicians to promote palliative care services to our patients and families.

Tracey Tatum, RN, MS, FNP
Breast Cancer Coordinator

Ms. Tatum serves as a consultant, advocate and educator for patients, their families, and the community.

She meets individually with breast cancer patients to give support and information, and to educate them about their diagnosis and treatment and help guide both patient and family through the treatment process which is usually multi faceted.

Tracey is also member of the High Risk Team. She meets with individuals and families affected by breast and/or ovarian cancer to assess their cancer risk and educate them on their options for genetic testing and risk reduction.

David Penberthy, MD
Radiation Oncology

Dr. Penberthy received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech, where he was a member of Eta Kappa Nu, the electrical engineering honor society. He received a medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia and completed a surgical internship at the National Naval Medical Center.

Dr. Penberthy previously worked as a flight surgeon for the U.S. Navy and a resident physician at the University of Virginia's department of radiation oncology.

Amy Rose, MD
General Surgery

Dr. Amy Rose, a surgeon at CJW, graduated with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from VCU and received her medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a member of the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons and the American Society of Breast Surgeons.

Ruth Felsen, MD
General Surgery

Dr. Felsen has been a surgeon with Surgical Associates of Richmond since 1996. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland with a bachelor of science degree and received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and she completed her surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

Dr. Felsen is board certified by the American Board of Surgery, she is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and is a member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons. 

Randal J. West, MD
Gynecologic Oncology

Dr. West is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and the Richmond Ob/Gyn Society. He received both his bachelor’s degree and his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Crawford C. Smith, MD
Colon & Rectal Surgery

Dr. Smith has been a surgeon with Colon and Rectal Specialists, Ltd., since 1981. He graduated cum laude from both Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School and Amherst College. He has a medical degree from Jefferson Medical College. He completed his surgical residency at Boston University and Tulane University. He later completed a fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at Ochsner Medical Foundation in New Orleans. He has a strong interest in and extensive experience with cancers of the colon and recum, including minimally invasive approaches to these tumors.

Graham M. Bundy, MD FACS

Dr. Bundy’s professional interests include Adult Lung cancer and Minimally Invasive Techniques. Dr. Bundy attended the Medical College of Virginia and attained a Masters of Science in Anatomy and a Doctor of Medicine degree. While at MCV, he was awarded the Aesculapian Scholarship for academic excellence for three years in a row. He completed his General Surgery residency at the Medical University of South Carolina and his Cardiothoracic Surgery fellowship at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Dipin Gupta, MD

Dr. Gupta’s professional interests include Minimally Invasive Approaches to the Lungs Cancer and Lung-Preserving Resections. Dr. Gupta graduated from the accelerated 6-year BS/MD program at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After completing an internship at The Mayo Clinic, Dr. Gupta completed his General Surgery residency at Temple University in Philadelphia and his Cardiothoracic Surgery fellowship at NYU in New York where he received extensive training in minimally invasive techniques.