CHARLES LEVENBACK
Doctor • Husband • University of Texas • MD Anderson Cancer Center
T H E I R H E R O S T O R Y
Dr. Charles Levenback, My Beloved
By Ginny Levenback
When I met Charles in 1993, he was the primary custodial parent of two boys, ages 5 and 7, and a busy cancer surgeon at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. This revealed a lot to me about his values before I really knew him. As a recently recovered cancer patient, I felt God had a hand in our relationship right from the start.
Throughout the next 30 years, I have seen Charles bring compassion, commitment, and loyalty to his patients, students, our family, and the community.
Charles is a role model.
Charles imparted knowledge to generations of fellows and residents, not only how to perform life-saving surgeries but also how to respectfully communicate challenging news to patients. Countless practicing physicians say they hear Dr. Levenback’s voice in their heads when communicating with patients. He was awarded the MD Anderson Faculty Achievement Award for patient care and his department’s teaching award twice. Charles was a busy clinician-investigator, publishing 3 books and over 140 peer-reviewed articles.
Patient care is his passion.
In an effort to alleviate the suffering of women with gynecologic cancer, Charles developed an innovative, practice-changing approach to gynecologic surgery. His research demonstrated that the use of “sentinel lymph node biopsy” was superior to more radical surgeries to search for cancer metastasis. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is now the standard in gynecologic surgery. Charles won the prestigious Innovator’s Award granted by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology for bringing this advancement to his subspecialty.
The numerous patients who have Charles’ cell number are a testament to his commitment to patient care. In retirement for 5 years now, Charles still hears life updates from his patients. He has also helped countless friends, colleagues, and family members navigate the challenging cancer journey.
Charles is devoted to family.
During his busy career, Charles never lost sight of what mattered most: family. He coached the children in youth sports in our neighborhood. He was also a regular at all kinds of school events.
Charles’ commitment and love of family were called to a new level when I was diagnosed with two cancers in 2021.
Charles became my caretaker for the next 2 years of treatment. He never missed an appointment, and he also took over cooking, cleaning, and managing the home during this time. Our love grew even stronger as we faced the “battle of a lifetime” together. This year we are celebrating 4 years cancer-free for Ginny and our 30th wedding anniversary.
We are so grateful!
H O N O R E D B Y
Ginny Levenback