Rutledge Delivers Assembly During 2016 Family Weekend
Dr. Robert Rutledge, a radiation oncologist specializing in radiation treatment for pediatric, prostate and breast cancer, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University and father of senior Graham Rutledge, delivered the Family Weekend assembly last Friday. He spoke of his experiences and spiritual well-being in cancer treatment. He also held a lunch in the Seabrooke Room and visited classes.
Though Dr. Rutledge began his career with solely physical treatments for his cancer patients, he came to realize his passion for charity and mental healing. Today, he devotes much of his personal time integrating physical cures and treatment with spiritual healing.
In his hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dr. Rutledge leads weekend support groups to help teach patients diagnosed with cancer. He preaches healing in the body, mind and spirit. He is the co-author of The Healing Circle, a book based on these weekend support groups. In addition, he leads the Healing and Cancer Foundation charity organization. In 2006, Dr. Rutledge was presented with the Health Promotion Award by the Doctors of Nova Scotia. In 2010, he received Cancer Care Nova Scotia’s Award of Excellence in Patient Care.
During the assembly, Dr. Rutledge discussed the power of positivity and appreciation in the times of adversity. He advertised this kind of mindset to cancer patients and Exonians alike. He also encouraged students to be more “authentic” with their emotions and to accept them.
"His speech made me think ‘what if people were more optimistic and appreciative?’”
The first idea that Dr. Rutledge stressed about confronting problems is acceptance. He defined acceptance as recognizing the reality of one’s circumstances. “When you’re feeling anxious, instead of saying that ‘I shouldn’t feel this way,’ and kind of fighting with reality, let that be your starting place—and start working from there,” he advised students. “Exonians have an upward trajectory, but they need to brace themselves and accept that some difficulties in life are inevitable. But once you accept that sadness, act on it, and go forth. The response to an event is more significant that the event itself.”
Senior Lena Papadakis, one of the co-heads of ESSO Just Keep Smiling, a club that creates projects to raise the spirits of pediatric patients, appreciated Dr. Rutledge’s emphasis on healing the body, mind and soul. “The assembly spoke a lot to what I think a lot of doctors ignore, which is the other side of medicine—the more spiritual side. I am a firm believer that if you have hope you can get through most things,” she said.
Prep Dawson Byrd reflected on how doctors should provide emotional support for their patients. “They’re your care providers,” he said, “and although they may never compare with your family, they are the ones that are going to be with you during those late nights, where, maybe understandably your family won’t be there for you, because they have work.”
Upper Anzi Debenedetto also appreciated Rutledge’s acknowledgment of the humanity behind fighting cancer. “It was really interesting to see how Graham’s dad introduced the ‘people’ side of cancer, rather than the disease itself. His speech could decrease some of the stigma we have around diseases like cancer, and make it more personal, highlighting the fact that the disease can affect any of us or our friends at any time.” For lower Euwie Park, the assembly provoked thought on the importance of optimism. “At Exeter, which is a pretty challenging environment, people can tend to be really negative,” Park explained. “This self-pity kills motivation, but I liked [Dr. Rutledge’s] positivity. His speech made me think ‘what if people were more optimistic and appreciative?’”
Graham Rutledge explained that he hadn’t heard many of the anecdotes his father brought up during assembly. “It was moving to hear [those stories] for the first time with all my peers. Dad does bring a unique perspective to anything I do,” he said.
Graham Rutledge said that the elder Rutledge’s role as a father parallels his career. “If I have a problem he just listens to me without judgement or advice, but encourages me to go those hard places, like he talked about in his presentation,” he said. He added that his father elegantly applies the philosophies he spoke of in his own life.
“I see a lot of what Dad has to deal with on a day to day basis,” Graham Rutledge continued. “He comes home and sometimes he’ll say that he saw a really sad case. But he accepts his reality and doesn’t allow it to stop him from enjoying his family.”