Welcome John Sheldon, MD, Medical Director, Radiation Oncology

Radiation Oncologist John M. Sheldon, MD, has joined the Mass General Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson Hospital as Medical Director of Radiation Oncology.

“It’s my privilege to welcome a physician of such caliber to the Mass General Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson,” said Lindsay Rockwell, DO, Medical Director of the Mass General Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

“For our patients, Dr. Sheldon brings a compassionate, caring approach plus 22 years of clinical expertise. To the team of providers at the Cancer Center, he brings a vision for future growth and expertise in programmatic development. It’s an honor to welcome him aboard and to partner with Dr. Sheldon to continue to advance cancer care in our community.”

Why Northampton?

Sheldon has relocated to the Northampton area from Kansas City, MO, where he practiced radiation oncology as part of a private practice for 22 years.

Leaving the Kansas City area, Sheldon says, was driven, in part, by his desire to be part of something bigger than himself. Sheldon joins Genevieve Maquilan, radiation oncologist, at the Mass General Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson.

“I sought a new opportunity with one of the nation’s top cancer centers,” Sheldon says. “I found this with the Mass General Cancer Center in Boston, and working at the Mass General Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson allows me to care for patients in a community setting while simultaneously having access to the highest quality resources and organizational leadership of a larger system.”

In addition to his clinical passions, Sheldon wanted to western Mass based on genealogical connections to the area and to Cooley Dickinson that date back to the mid-1600s.

“My eighth great-grandfather, Isaac Sheldon, was one for the first settlers of Northampton. My seventh great-grandfather, John B. Sheldon, helped to settle the town of Deerfield,” says Sheldon. He recently discovered that Caleb Cooley Dickinson, the founder of Cooley Dickinson Hospital, is one of his distant cousins.

On Caring for Patients
Sheldon says he decided to specialize in radiation oncology primarily because of the day-to-day interactions with patients “as we build mutually rewarding doctor-patient relationships in pursuit of a common goal. The latest knowledge in biomedical science and technology is applied to best use for a particular patient, in a particular circumstance, with a particular perspective and set of values.” He adds, “every patient is unique. Every day is a new challenge. It’s invigorating work, and a privilege to perform.”

Training and Education

Sheldon earned his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He completed a research fellowship at The University of Chicago; an internship in Internal Medicine at Union Memorial Hospital and residency in Radiation Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is board certified in Radiation Oncology by the American Board of Radiology.

Cancer Center Provider Team

John M. Sheldon, MD, joins the Mass General Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson provider team of nurse practitioner
Glenda Flynn, NP; Orion Howard, MD, medical oncologist; Genevieve Maquilan, MD, radiation oncologist; Qiang Nai, MD, medical oncologist; Barrett Newsome, DO, medical oncologist; Lindsay Rockwell, DO, medical oncologist/hematologist; Marnie Scott, PA, and Deborah Smith, MD, medical oncologist.

To make an appointment or for more information about Radiation Oncology, which is part of the Mass General Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson, visit cooleydickinson.org or call 413-582-2107.

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