Palliative Care
Department of Medicine’s New Medical Director of Palliative Care –
Egidio Del Fabbro, MD
Egidio Del Fabbro joins Augusta University from Virginia Commonwealth University where he served as the Endowed Chair for Palliative Medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1990 and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University, St. Louis. After a Palliative Medicine fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, he joined the Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation for 8 years, and co-founded the Cachexia clinic at MD Anderson. He was appointed VCU Program Director for Palliative Medicine in 2012, establishing a comprehensive clinical program that included a Palliative Care Unit, Consult service and the creation of a Supportive Care Clinic. This interdisciplinary team approach to patients with serious illness and physical, psychological and spiritual distress, delivered palliative care throughout the health system.
Dr. Del Fabbro has published over 100 peer reviewed articles and chapters. His research interests include clinical trials for patients with cancer related fatigue and weight loss; interventions for delirium; mitigating the risks for opioid misuse; and managing opioid side effects and neuropathic pain in cancer. He has received funding from the American Cancer Society and the National Institutes of Health to explore the effect of testosterone replacement on patients with cancer. Other roles include serving as Cachexia and Nutrition Study Group Chair of the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC); Supportive Care Section Editor for the Oncologist, and Associate Editor for the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle (JCSM).