TUPELO, Mississippi – After 34 years of caring for cancer patients, Andrew Kellum, M.D., is reeling in his retirement.

The Tupelo hematologist-oncologist is trading his white coat for a fishing vest, cycling shoes and a backpack.

“The fishing poles and bikes are calling,” said Dr. Kellum, who is looking forward to new adventures with his wife, neurologist Donna Harrington, M.D., who retired in 2022.

Yet, it’s hard to say good-bye. “I love the people I work with,” Dr. Kellum said.

Caring for his patients has been a joy and a revelation, he said.

“I’ve learned more from them than they learned from me,” Dr. Kellum said.

Dr. Kellum, a Tupelo native, earned his medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and completed his fellowship training at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.

When he returned to Tupelo in 1989, there were only two oncologists and one hematologist. He was the first in Tupelo to hold board certification in hematology and oncology. Now it is the standard.

Now the medical team at NMMC Cancer Care includes seven hematology and oncology physicians, five nurse practitioners, a palliative care physician and a nurse practitioner certified in genetic counseling. Clinical navigators guide patients in their cancer journeys. They have the support of social workers and dietitians.

“It’s a team effort, and the team has grown,” he said.

Tools that the team has to treat patients with cancer have expanded tremendously.

“When I started out, we had chemotherapy, radiation and surgery to treat cancer,” Dr. Kellum said.

Now there are a range of therapies that harness the immune system and treatments that target the inner machinery of cancer cells. The medical team can use genetic changes in a tumor to dial in treatments for the best outcomes.

“All that leads to more specific, targeted therapies,” Dr. Kellum said.

Most importantly, patients with cancer are surviving and thriving.

 “It used to be someone with lung cancer that had metastasized to the brain might have two months,” Kellum said. “Now I have patients with advanced stage tumors who are living well for several years.”

With his retirement, Dr. Kellum and his wife have plans that will take them from one corner of the United States to the other – salmon fishing in Alaska and tarpon fishing in the Florida Keys. In between, they are planning bike rides, campouts and other fishing trips.

When they aren’t off on adventures, Kellum plans to find volunteer projects to keep himself busy.