• 7/20/2004
  • Onaha, NB
  • BY STEVE JORDON
  • Omaha World-Herald

Omaha investor Warren Buffett and his wife, Susan, have donated $6 million for research in appreciation of the treatment for mouth cancer that Susan Buffett received last fall, resulting in her “remarkable recovery.”

“Mrs. Buffett is doing extremely well, and we’re all very pleased that she has been able to resume her normal life activities,” said Dr. David Eisele, professor at the University of California-San Francisco. Last October, Dr. Deborah Greenspan, a professor of clinical oral medicine at the university’s medical center, found a “disturbing growth” at the base of Susan Buffett’s mouth, the medical center said in a public notice.

Greenspan referred Buffett to Dr. Brian Schmidt, an assistant professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery, who diagnosed her condition as potentially life-threatening cancer. Buffett met with Eisele, chairman of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery, who set up a treatment plan involving surgery and post-operative therapy through the medical center’s cancer center.

“Because of the seriousness of her diagnosis, Buffett spoke with specialists at a number of renowned cancer centers across the country,” the medical center said. “She was relieved to learn that Eisele’s plan would provide her with top-quality care close to her home in San Francisco.” Eisele led the tumor-removal surgery, followed by surgery by Dr. Pablo Leon, an assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery. Six weeks of radiation therapy conducted by Dr. Jeanne Quivey followed.

The medical center credited the treatment team and “Buffett’s own courage and fortitude” for her “remarkable recovery.” In May, she came to Omaha for the annual shareholders meeting of Berkshire Hathaway. The Buffetts said they established funds for each of the five doctors who coordinated Susan Buffett’s treatment to use at their own discretion in research. “UCSF should be proud to have these exceptional people on its staff,” Warren Buffett said.

ADDENDUM: Susan Buffett died suddenly from a stroke on July 29, 2004 at the age of 71. While the details of her death have not been released, pateints who receive large doses of radiation as a result of treament for oral and head and neck cancers have a higher risk of stroke after treatment.