Faculty and Staff
Mark A. O'Rourke, M.D.
| Title: | Adjunct Associate Professor |
| Medicine | |
| School of Medicine Greenville | |
| E-mail: | mark.orourke@prismahealth.org |
| Office: | 701 Grove Road Greenville SC 29605 |
Bio
| Background: | Dr. O’Rourke is a medical oncology cancer specialist with the GHS Cancer Institute. He grew up in Santa Barbara, California and completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University. He served in the U.S. Navy as an instructor at the Naval Nuclear Power School. He completed medical school at UCLA and residency training at the Duke University Medical Center, where he went on to complete fellowships in medical oncology and geriatrics. He has been a member of the medical staff at GHS since 1990. Dr. O’Rourke is a medical oncology cancer specialist with the Prisma Health Upstate Cancer Institute. He grew up in Santa Barbara, California and completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University. He served in the U.S. Navy as an instructor at the Naval Nuclear Power School. He completed medical school at UCLA and residency training at the Duke University Medical Center, where he went on to complete fellowships in medical oncology and geriatrics. He has been a member of the medical staff at Greenville Health System, now Prisma Health, since 1990. Dr. O’Rourke’s practice is blood and cancer illnesses that affect adults. He cares for people living with the full spectrum of cancers. He also participates in the Prisma Gastrointestinal Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic, in which a multi-specialty team of physicians and nurses provide specialty evaluation and care for cancers of the stomach, pancreas, bile ducts, liver, colon and rectum. He serves on the SWOG Cancer Research Network Gastrointestinal Cancer Committee and participates in the development and conduct of national and international research in gastrointestinal cancer. Dr. O’Rourke is active in cancer clinical research and offers participation in National Cancer Institute (NCI) clinical trials in the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) at the Prisma Health Upstate Cancer Institute. He is also an investigator in the Institute for Translation Oncology (ITOR) clinical trials at the GHS Cancer Institute, where precision medicine, new drugs and immunotherapy are developed. At a national level, he is an active investigator in the NCI research base, called the SWOG Cancer Research Network, where he is a founding co-chair of the Palliative and End-of-Life Care Committee. He also serves on the NCI Steering committee which reviews and recommends research studies that address Symptom Control and Quality of Life. Dr. O’Rourke is a national expert in the newly evolving field of cancer survivorship care, devoted to helping cancer survivors regain their full physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health after cancer treatment. He is also a practitioner of integrative oncology, which addresses the full range of a person’s experience with cancer, including exercise, nutrition, sleep, mind-body therapies, social support, and mental and spiritual health. His teams’ research at Prisma has shown benefits for cancer survivors of acupuncture, mindfulness meditation and heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback. Dr. O’Rourke has a particular interest in medical ethics and has served on the ethics committees of the South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He has taken additional training and become board certified in palliative care medicine, which is a new specialty that addresses symptom control, pain relief, communication, and coordination of care for seriously ill persons. He worked with the SCMA to improve physician/patient communication, which led to legislation creating the South Carolina Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) in 2019. Dr. O’Rourke is a clinical assistant professor at the University of South Carolina, Clemson University and the UofSC School of Medicine Grenville and has been teaching medical students and physicians in training for over three decades. In June 2020, Dr. O’Rourke received the UofSC School of Medicine Greenville’s Outstanding Service Award. The award “recognizes individuals for their meaningful service contributions to the advancement of their professions, the mission of the medical school and the communities we serve.” Dr. O’Rourke and his wife, Rita, have two children, three grandchildren, and a labradoodle. In his free time, he helps Rita in the garden and in the kitchen. |
| Teaching Interest(s): | Areas of Focus Blood and cancer illnesses that affect adults Gastrointestinal cancers Integrative oncology and mind-body therapies National Cancer Institute (NCI) clinical trials in the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Institute for Translation Oncology (ITOR) clinical trials of new cancer drugs and immunotherapy Palliative Care and Quality of Life cancer research Cancer care delivery research |
| Research Interest(s): | Integrative oncology and mind-body therapies National Cancer Institute (NCI) clinical trials in the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Institute for Translation Oncology (ITOR) clinical trials of new cancer drugs and immunotherapy Palliative Care and Quality of Life cancer research Cancer care delivery research |
| Honors & Awards: | Outstanding Service Award Outstanding Contributions Certificate Physician of the Year Award for Community Service Order of St. Luke Award Golden Apple Award |
| Professional Affiliations: | Co-chair, SWOG Cancer Research Network Palliative and End of Life Care Committee Other - National Cancer Institute Symptom Management & Health-Related Quality of Life Steering Committee (SxQOL SC) Member Coalition for the Care of the Seriously Ill Other - Member of the Steering Committee American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Member Catholic Medical Association Member South Carolina Cancer Alliance Other - Founding Member Christian Medical Association Member South Carolina Pain Initiative Member South Carolina Oncology Society Member Greenville County Medical Society Member South Carolina Medical Association Member Southwest Oncology Group, now SWOG Cancer Research Network (National Cancer Institute) Member American Medical Association Member American Society for Clinical Oncology Member ASCO Survivorship Commitee Member SWOG Digital Engagement Committee Member South Carolina Governor's Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Council Member ASCO Ethics Commitee Member SCMA Bioethics Committee Member Hospice House of Greenville Board Other - Chair of the Board South Carolina Department of Health & Human Services Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee Member Legislative representative, Greenville County Medical Society Other - Legislative Representative Secretary/Treasurer, Greenville County Medical Society Other - Secretary / Treasurer South Carolina Cancer Alliance, Policy and Advocacy Task Force Other - Vice Chairman South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Cancer Control Advisory Committee Member Bon Secours St. Francis Health System Foundation Member Hospice of the Foothills Foundation Board Member South Carolina Medicare Part B Carrier Advisory Committee Other - Vice Chairman Insights, Greenville Chapter, South Carolina Citizens for Life, Community Advisory Board Other - Chairman SCMA Interdisciplinary Council Other - Oncology Representative South Carolina Oncology Society Other - Secretary Upstate SC Chapter Board, Alzheimer's Association Member Bioethics Resource Group Member Nursing Home Ethics Group Subcommittee Member |