The late Col. William ‘Randy’ Holland of the Arkansas Army National Guard

April 17, 2009 | April 17, 2009 | A new lecture series at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will honor the life and memory of a retired Arkansas Army National Guard colonel.

The inaugural Colonel William ‘Randy’ Holland Memorial Speaker Series on Melanoma is scheduled for noon May 7, 2009, in Room G141A/B of UAMS’ Education 2 Building. May is national melanoma month. The lecture is offered in partnership with the Arkansas Central Cancer Registry and the Arkansas Cancer Coalition.

Jeffrey A. Sosman, M.D., a professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Vanderbilt University’s Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tenn., will speak about “Exciting New Avenues in the Treatment of Melanoma.”

A 42-year veteran with the Arkansas Army National Guard, Holland retired in 2005 with the rank of colonel. During his career as a helicopter pilot, he amassed more than 4,700 flight hours and received numerous honors and awards. As a civilian, Holland worked for several years in the outdoor sports industry and was a cattle farmer.

Holland was diagnosed with Stage IV malignant melanoma in February 2005. He died in 2007. Friends and family of Holland established the lecture series in 2008 to honor him and the many physicians, nurses and staff members at UAMS who treated and assisted him during his three-year, courageous battle with melanoma.

The lecture series will support an annual or bi-annual lecture at UAMS to physicians, residents, medical students and other health care practioners. The lecture also will be broadcast to family physicians across the state. The goal is to increase awareness of melanoma prevention, diagnosis, treatment and research. The incidence of melanoma in the United States has doubled in the last 20 years.

Tax-deductible donations may be made to the series by contacting Cathy Sanders in the UAMS College of Medicine, at 501-526-7399 or csanders@uams.edu. Please send checks made payable to the UAMS Foundation Fund to UAMS, 4301 W. Markham #716, Little Rock AR 72205.  Please note that the donation is for the Holland Memorial Speaker Series. All donations by full-time College of Medicine faculty will be matched by the Faculty Group Practice, the group practice for UAMS physicians.