{"id":258114,"date":"2025-10-01T15:00:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T19:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=258114"},"modified":"2025-10-17T12:40:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T16:40:36","slug":"no-superpowers-needed-how-an-alum-is-advancing-justice-in-cancer-care","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/no-superpowers-needed-how-an-alum-is-advancing-justice-in-cancer-care\/","title":{"rendered":"No Superpowers Needed: How an Alum is Advancing Justice in Cancer Care"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin sphnews-block-editorial-leadin is-style-side-by-side has-media has-wider has-flip has-media-focus-center-middle has-light-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot.jpeg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Frantz-Berthaud-headshot\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot-636x636.jpeg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot-755x755.jpeg 755w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot-500x500.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot-550x550.jpeg 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot-710x710.jpeg 710w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot-600x600.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/10\/Frantz-Berthaud-headshot-100x100.jpeg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Featured<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo Superpowers Needed: How an Alum is Advancing Justice in Cancer Care\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">As the senior vice president of oncology services at University Medical Center of El Paso, alum Frantz Berthaud (SPH\u201815) is spearheading the change he wants to see in cancer care.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar js-block-editorial-metabar sphnews-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">October 1, 2025<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/authors\/megan-jones\/\">Megan Jones<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>Since childhood, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/frantzmberthaud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Frantz Berthaud<\/a>&#8216;s favorite superhero has always been Batman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike most superheroes, Batman has no superhuman powers. &#8220;He can&#8217;t actually fly. There aren&#8217;t lasers coming out of his eyes,\u201d says Berthaud (SPH\u201815).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that\u2019s precisely what drew Berthaud to the character: the idea that anyone can be a superhero if they dedicate themselves to helping others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Raised by a single, immigrant mother in a household with four sisters, Berthaud learned the value of helping others at a young age. His mother, who came to the U.S. from Haiti in the early &#8217;80s in search of a better life, initially settled in Brooklyn, NY, before moving the family to Salem, Mass. Berthaud\u2019s three older sisters helped raise him, instilling in him the desire to grow up and become a helper too. As the only male in the family, Berthaud yearned to \u201cdo and be more\u201d than what his circumstances and neighborhood seemed to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Determined to become a physician, Berthaud applied his ambition to his studies. He earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in biology from Boston College and began his career at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dana-farber.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dana-Farber Cancer Institute<\/a> in a clinical research role. But as he gained experience with recruiting patients to clinical trials, Berthaud began to see flaws in the healthcare system\u2014problems that, if addressed, could improve both his job and patient care. Motivated to create systemic change, Berthaud decided to forgo medical school to pursue further training in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/departments\/health-law-policy-and-management\/\">health policy and management<\/a> at the School of Public Health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Berthaud realized that as a direct care provider, he could impact the lives of a few thousand people annually, but in health policy, he could shape decisions affecting tens of thousands. &#8220;It became a numbers game for me,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re building public health infrastructure, especially in the cancer space, you\u2019re doing it with the understanding that you\u2019re serving everyone\u2014those left behind and those with fewer resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the course of more than a decade at Dana-Farber, Berthaud worked his way up from clinical administrative specialist in a hematopoietic stem cell transplant program to, following the completion of his MPH, administrative director of disease center operations, a role that involved managing $7 milion operations budgets for the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dana-farber.org\/cancer-care\/treatment\/thoracic-lung-cancer\" target=\"_blank\">Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology<\/a> and the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dana-farber.org\/cancer-care\/treatment\/therapeutic-innovation\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to his work at Dana-Farber, Berthaud returned to SPH to instruct the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/sph\/courses\/sph-pm-827\/\" target=\"_blank\">Strategic Management of Healthcare Organizations<\/a> course for six years between 2016 and 2022. \u201cThat was wonderful, being able to teach that [course] and becoming good friends with Professor Chris Louis. He would teach a section, I would teach a section, and to this day, I still will guest lecture in one of his strategy courses because I just love it so much,\u201d says Berthaud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The opportunity to teach arose after Berthaud asked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/victoria-parker\/\">Victoria Parker<\/a>, an adjunct professor in health law, policy, and management and one of Berthaud\u2019s instructors during his MPH studies, why there were not more professors of color in the department, given the field\u2019s emphasis on health equity. \u201cShe responded, \u2018Why don\u2019t you teach?\u2019\u201d Berthaud recalls. \u201cAnd I cheekily said, \u2018I will.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Berthaud wants all students to feel empowered to be the change they wish to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s nothing that says we need to be given permission to change the world,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Berthaud recently assumed the role of Senior Vice President of Oncology Services at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umcelpaso.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">University Medical Center of El Paso<\/a>, where he is responsible for overseeing the coordination and strategic growth of the hospital\u2019s cancer services. As\u00a0the partner hospital to\u00a0the\u00a0local health sciences center, <a href=\"https:\/\/ttuhscep.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Texas Tech Health El Paso<\/a>, UMC will play an important role in bringing the Fox Cancer Center&#8211;the first comprehensive cancer center in West Texas and the El Paso region&#8211;to a medically underserved community. In his role, Berthaud serves as one of UMC\u2019s key leaders, supporting\u00a0and working closely with Texas Tech Health El Paso to expand access to advanced cancer care\u00a0as cancer incidence increases nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A key part of his role is assessing the demand for cancer services in the El Paso region. To do so, Berthaud collaborates with stakeholders from UMC El Paso and TTUHSC\u2014such as the chief of strategy, the chief nursing officer, and the infusion manager\u2014as well as community members such as the battalion chief of a local firehouse and attendees of a recent border health innovation summit. \u201cThat work starts now, so that when we do turn the lights on in the building, we&#8217;re ready to go,\u201d says Berthaud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the demands of daily meetings obscure his greater purpose, Berthaud reflects on a framed copy of Massachusetts law <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/malegislature.gov\/Laws\/SessionLaws\/Acts\/2024\/Chapter231\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter 231 of the Acts of 2024<\/a> hanging in his office. Before he moved to Texas, he had the honor of testifying on behalf of that bill when it was under consideration by the Massachusetts House and titled &#8220;An Act Relative to Medically Necessary Breast Screenings and Exams for Equity and Early Detection.&#8221; In his testimony, Berthaud shared his personal connection to cancer, including his work at Dana-Farber and the loss of his sister Morva to breast cancer in 2017. The bill passed into law on November 13, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnytime I get the chance, I&#8217;m going to tell my truth and say why I&#8217;m in the cancer space, why I&#8217;m so relentless in this work, because I have seen what cancer does to people, to families, to communities, and I want to prevent that. If I can be the Batman to someone or someone&#8217;s family for just a moment in time, I&#8217;ll take it,\u201d says Berthaud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For MPH students pursuing healthcare leadership and management, Berthaud\u2019s journey is a model. \u201cWhether you\u2019re improving care for patients at your healthcare organization or your fingerprints are on a bill that is going to positively impact entire communities\u2014that to me is the hallmark of what it means to be in public health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories is-style-card has-three sphnews-block-editorial-relatedstories\">\n\t\t<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-title\">Related<\/h3>\n\t\t<ul class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"600\" height=\"362\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2025\/09\/Carla-headshot3.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Headshot of Carla Irizarry-Delgado\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>cancer epidemiology<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/student-spends-summer-at-countrys-top-cancer-center\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Student Spends Summer at Country&#8217;s Top Cancer Center<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">September 12, 2025<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"600\" height=\"362\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2025\/06\/Sanjiv-Gupta-2-600x362-1.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Headshot of Sanjiv Gupta\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>alumni news<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/clinic-to-classroom-and-back-alum-returns-to-nepal-to-re-envision-healthcare\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Clinic to Classroom and Back: Alum Returns to Nepal to Re-envision Healthcare<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">June 20, 2025<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"600\" height=\"362\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/Martine_Geary-Souza_600x362.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Headshot of Martine Geary-Souza\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>LGBTQIA+ advocacy<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/alum-transforms-pain-into-progress-champions-trauma-informed-care-in-medical-education\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Alum Transforms Pain into Progress, Champions Trauma-Informed Care in Medical Education<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">May 29, 2025<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since childhood, Frantz Berthaud&#8216;s favorite superhero has always been Batman. Unlike most superheroes, Batman has no superhuman powers. &#8220;He can&#8217;t actually fly. There aren&#8217;t lasers coming out of his eyes,\u201d says Berthaud (SPH\u201815). But that\u2019s precisely what drew Berthaud to the character: the idea that anyone can be a superhero if they dedicate themselves to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22210,"featured_media":258121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[1750,2013,504,3420,5313,5314,5312,3214],"bu-publication":[3516],"sphnews-article-category":[3519,3520,3531,3535,3541],"sphnews-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"profile_tax":[4874,2653],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/258114"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258114"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/258114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":258728,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/258114\/revisions\/258728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258114"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=258114"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-article-category?post=258114"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-topic?post=258114"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=258114"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=258114"},{"taxonomy":"profile_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile_tax?post=258114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}