Fox Chase Proud: Lisa Erickson, Senior Medical Secretary

• Lisa Erickson is honored to work for such a dedicated group of physicians at Fox Chase Cancer Center.  As senior medical secretary in Urologic Oncology, Erickson has been employed at Fox Chase for 24 years.

  “I was a stay at home mom raising my two small children when a friend approached me about a part-time position at night as a medical transcriptionist in the Department of Surgery,” Erickson said.

  “It was an ideal situation for a couple reasons. I was born and raised in the Fox Chase neighborhood and lived across the street from the Center. The other nice thing about working in the evening was that I didn’t have to worry about childcare issues. 20 years ago in 1998, a full-time position opened up in the department as a senior medical secretary.  I interviewed and was hired for the position and have been working for urology ever since.”

  Today, Erickson provides administrative and secretarial support for three surgeons including the Chief of Urology and Urologic Oncology, Alexander Kutikov, MD, FACS. She is responsible for all administrative details, which include heavy coordination of patient care, conferences and travel, various projects, document preparation and coordination of internal and external meetings.

  “There are so many things I love about my job,” Erickson explained. “First and foremost, it is an honor and privilege to work every day with brilliant, dedicated, and compassionate doctors who provide the best care to their patients who they treat as family. I love working and talking with the patients and being able to reassure them that they are in great hands. I can also relate and empathize with them because I can share my personal story and experience when I was a patient at Fox Chase twelve years ago. When patients hear that, you can hear the relief in their voice and that is very gratifying knowing I am making a difference and helping them get through this very difficult time.”

  Erickson also knows first-hand what it is like to be a cancer patient and to be treated at FCCC. Twelve years ago, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had her thyroid removed by John Ridge, MD, head and neck surgeon.  “Because the final pathology showed such a low grade cancer, I didn’t require any further treatment. I have been cancer free since then and my prognosis is excellent. Working here and knowing Dr. Ridge personally made my experience that much better.”

  Now Erickson has two grown children and is expecting her first grandchild (a boy) at the end of February. Erickson was raised by parents who emphasized that family is very important, which she would like to think she passed on to her children. She also has two sisters that live in the area who she is very close with.

  “I spend my free time taking long walks with my dog, reading and getting to the beach as often as I can because other than spending time with family and friends, the beach is my happy place.”

  In the future, Erickson looks forward to having more time to travel, watch her grandchildren grow and to spend more time doing all the things she loves to do. “Eventually, my dream would be to live at the beach.”