Biography

Tone Fokstuen is driven by her curiosity of the body and its functioning. Tone knew at an early age that she wanted to be a doctor. After graduating in 1990 from University of Amsterdam she enrolled at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm for her rotation. During her rotation at the hospital, Tone realized she had special ability to help people, specifically cancer patients. Tone's method was to treat each patient as an individual. She became fascinated by the variety of possible treatment options. Her interests were growing and she saw the field of gastrointestinal cancer patients was where she could make her greatest impact. Tone was affected by the severe distress of some of her patients. Life seemed unhesitating and out of control for the patients with cancer. The gastrointestinal tract is the accessory organs of digestion and are responsible for more cancers and more deaths caused by cancer than any other system in the body. Some of her most gratifying experiences in working in the field is the ability to contribute to the scientific knowledge via clinical studies and multi-disciplinary collaborations that are crucial in her work. Conferring with other doctors on the most promising medical treatments, documenting results and being part of research teams to move the medical discipline forward. Tone is not only a frequent presenter at medical conferences but she is also a much-published researcher who collaborates with others and has had the effect of not only improving medical treatment in Sweden but in other countries as well. Her fluency in English, Swedish, Dutch and Norwegian have been extremely helpful in Tone's work. Tone's research on radiation therapy in the management of brain metastases due to breast cancer was recognized by the country of Uganda and has become incorporated in their Breast Cancer Guidelines of treatment since 2008. Tone's greatest accomplishment is simply put: being a good physician.