Posted: 9/16/19

Updated: 9/19/19 (Memorial Visitation Information Included)

It is with great sadness that we share that Thomas Weber MD, FACS, a visionary leader in relentless pursuit of our shared goal to save lives from colorectal cancer, died at home with his family on September 15, 2019. In addition to his many contributions as a renowned clinician, researcher, and founder of the Colon Cancer Foundation, Dr. Weber was a stalwart contributor to the NCCRT for many years.

Dr. Weber led the NCCRT as Chair from 2005 to 2012, then continued on as a Steering Committee member until 2018. He served as the Co-chair of the Family History and Early Age Onset Colorectal Cancer Task Group from 2015 to 2018. During his tenure with NCCRT, Dr. Weber instituted the NCCRT Steering Committee site visits, which became unforgettable trips to Baltimore, Charleston, SC, the Four Corners area of Colorado and the Bay area of California. These visits served to inspire us to replicate local successes, better understand local challenges, and connect with some remarkable local leaders (including Dennis Ahnen, Heather Brandt, Frank Berger, Anjee Davis, Andi Dwyer, and TR Levin), who subsequently became enduring contributors to the NCCRT. He was also pivotal in conducting the groundwork to develop a “Unified March Strategy” for NCCRT members, which evolved over time to grow into 80% by 2018, our first unified effort to reach or exceed 80% colorectal cancer screening rates nationwide. He was also an early and passionate advocate for addressing the early age onset issue, bringing attention and leadership to efforts to address these emerging trends. Dr. Weber spent much of his professional life acting with urgency to save lives from colorectal cancer and spurring many others to do the same – and it was an incredible accomplishment that he was indeed successful at both.

Please join us in expressing our sincere condolences to Dr. Weber’s family. Visit the Colon Cancer Challenge Foundation’s tribute webpage to learn more about Dr. Weber’s many contributions and to sign the guest book.

We’d also like to share this thoughtful tribute from the Family History & Early Age Onset Colorectal Cancer (FH/EAO CRC) Task Group current and recent co-chairs: Dennis Ahnen, Heather Hampel, Paul Schroy, and Steve Itzkowitz:

Dr. Tom Weber was central to the development of the FH/EAO CRC Task Group. He proposed adding a new task group for Early Onset CRC. The existing FH Task Group discussed this and realized that the same people who were active in and interested in Family History as a risk factor for CRC were interested in Early Onset Disease, and if we were to developed a new task group, our members and energies would be split. With Tom’s full and enthusiastic support, we elected to propose that the FH Task Group be renamed the FH and EAO CRC Task Group with Tom added as a Co-Chair to lead the EAO CRC effort.

Tom was an inspired leader. He provided passion, ideas, and all of the important ships – leadership, mentorship, friendship – to our group. He was masterful at bringing together stakeholders around the EAO CRC issue that was so close to his heart. He organized the Colon Cancer Challenge Foundation’s annual Early Adult Onset CRC Summit in New York City; he also proposed, organized, and helped lead the NCCRT summit on EAO CRC in December of 2017.  His other particular interests included: expanding the database to determine if the rising incidence of EAO CRC that we had seen in the US was a worldwide phenomenon (he co-authored a paper published last week on this topic); identifying symptom combinations that were most predictive of CRC in the young; education of both patients and their providers about the important of including CRC in the differential diagnosis of rectal bleeding and other GI symptoms regardless of age; and the general sharing of knowledge and the latest technology related to EAO CRC prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Dr. Weber’s contributions have been substantial to our task group and we miss him dearly already.

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9/19/19 Colon Cancer Foundation Update

Dr. Weber’s legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of everyone he interacted with as well as those he reached but never met.

• Dr. Weber’s Family will be hosting a memorial visitation on Wednesday, September 25 from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m.
• The Colon Cancer Foundation will host a reception Wednesday, September 25, 2019 immediately following the Memorial Visitation at Beecher Flooks Funeral Home.

Wednesday, September 25th
Memorial Visitation at Beecher Flooks Funeral Home
4:30 – 7:30 pm
418 Bedford Road
Pleasantville, NY 10570

Thursday, September 26th
Funeral Service
11:00 am
First Congregational Church of Chappaqua
210 Orchard Ridge Road
Chappaqua, NY 10514

Condolences may be sent to the Weber Family c/o the Colon Cancer Foundation, 10 Midland Avenue, Suite M06, Port Chester, NY 10573.