Mar 23, 2026
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Takeaways:
- When Dave learned his colon cancer had returned in his liver, he became Dr. T. Clark Gamblin’s first surgery patient after he arrived to lead the new Division of Surgical Oncology.
- Dave now gives back by delivering holiday gift bags to infusion patients.
Impact: At Huntsman Cancer Institute, trusted multidisciplinary teams perform stateoftheart surgery, removing cancer safely and helping patients like Dave return to the lives they love.
A complex liver surgery in late 2025 marked a turning point for both patient and surgeon.
For T. Clark Gamblin, MD, MS, MBA, FACS, hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgeon at Huntsman Cancer Institute, it was the first operation he performed after moving across the country to lead a new Division of Surgical Oncology at the University of Utah.
For 61-year-old Dave Harrison, it was the chance to remove the cancer that returned in his liver nearly three years after his initial colon cancer diagnosis.
Both of their paths converged at the right moment.
“It was amazing timing,” Dave says. “It was definitely a blessing.”
Intersecting Paths
Following his colon cancer diagnosis in 2022, Dave underwent several rounds of chemotherapy and a colon surgery at Huntsman Cancer Institute.
For a time, everything appeared stable. A routine follow up, however, brought unexpected news.
“We went in with the belief that we were done,” Dave remembers. After reviewing his blood work, his oncologist ordered a PET scan. “That’s when they found the lesion on my liver.”
Colorectal cancer often metastasizes to the liver. Like Dave, many patients develop liver involvement at some point during their disease course.
Dave then underwent 12 rounds of chemotherapy and 5 rounds of radiation.
“That didn’t knock it out,” Dave says. “So, my care team and I started talking about the possibility of liver surgery.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Gamblin was preparing to relocate more than 1,400 miles to Salt Lake City from Milwaukee, where he had served as chief of surgical oncology and vice chair of clinical operations at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
A Team Approach
Dave’s multidisciplinary team of experts at Huntsman Cancer Institute included his colon surgeon, Bartley Pickron, MD, FACS, FASCRS; his medical oncologist, Ignacio Garrido-Laguna, MD, PhD, MBA; and his interventional radiologist, Ziga Cizman, MD, MPH.
As they discussed next steps, they recommended consulting with the incoming chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology, Dr. Gamblin, an HPB surgeon who operates on complex liver, pancreas, and biliary cancers.
The only complication? He wouldn’t be in Utah for a few more months.
Dave and his wife talked through the options and decided to receive additional chemotherapy cycles while waiting for Dr. Gamblin.
When they finally met, the sense of confidence on both sides was immediate.
“From the first consultation, when he walked into the room with confidence and empathy, we knew it was the right decision,” Dave says. “It was definitely well worth the wait.”
When Dr. Gamblin learned that Dave had chosen him as his surgeon, he was humbled by the trust Dave put him.
"There are surgeons here that know how to do that operation and are just as good at doing it as I am. But the fact that he wanted me specifically to do it was humbling," he says. “Dave had complete confidence and trust in his team and in me, even though he had never met me.”
That trust, he adds, is something he never takes lightly.
The Power of Trust
Dr. Gamblin knows personally how important trust in your care team can be.
In 2018, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. People sometimes assumed that, as a cancer surgeon, he would be deeply involved in every detail of his own treatment.
“I literally just said to them, ‘I'll do whatever you think is best,’ and I listened to them. I did exactly what they told me to do and put my health in their hands,” he remembers.
After two operations and chemotherapy, and more than five years without health issues, he is cancer-free.
“I am incredibly grateful to the teams that took care of me,” Dr. Gamblin says.
He explains that it wasn’t about blind trust, but confidence that he had chosen a skilled team whose expertise he could rely on. When patients feel confident in their choice, that confidence becomes an anchor throughout treatment.
It’s the kind of trust he felt in his own clinicians, and it’s the same trust Dave placed in his team at Huntsman Cancer Institute as he prepared for surgery.
“I don’t take lightly the trust my patients give me,” he says. “People come to Huntsman Cancer Institute because they trust our expertise.”
“Thoughtfully Aggressive” Surgery
In November 2025, Dave underwent surgery in which about 60% of his liver was removed.
“The liver is this magnificent organ that grows back after we operate on it,” Dr. Gamblin explains. “This allows us to take a thoughtfully aggressive approach in removing the cancer.”
After four days in the hospital, Dave returned home and recovered quickly. His energy, something he had been missing for years, began to return.
Dr. Gamblin credits the outcome on Huntsman Cancer Institute’s team-based approach.
“We had a host of people looking after Dave and his family while he went down this journey,” he says. “It’s not just about the surgery. What mattered was the combined effort—nursing, anesthesia, oncology, radiology, everyone.”
With his energy restored, Dave is getting back into gardening with his wife and his teenage son. His most recent passion has been forging with a friend, a hobby inspired by watching the TV show Forged in Fire.
“I really didn’t have the energy before my diagnosis to go to the forge, but now I’m back to doing all the things I loved before,” Dave says.
Giving Back
Dave’s positive outlook, something his care team frequently noticed, was intentional.
Early on in his chemotherapy treatment, one of his nurses told him something that stuck with him.
“She looked me square in the eye and said, ‘Don't stop fighting. It's going to suck, but keep your attitude good,’” Dave remembers. “She said that positive attitude was a big part of getting through it, not only for me but for the people around me.”
He took her advice to heart. But some days were harder than others.
He clearly remembers a difficult infusion close to Christmas, a day that turned around when a couple delivered small gift bags to patients.
“I can’t even tell you what was in it,” he says. “But what an impact that made, that somebody would take the time and cared to try to brighten people’s day.”
That simple kindness sparked a tradition. When December came again, Dave told his family what he wanted for Christmas: supplies to assemble gift bags for infusion patients—treats, a notepad and pen, a short encouraging message—and a day to bring them to patients receiving infusion.
“I know how it is and how much that meant to me, so hopefully it'll mean the same to one or two people,” Dave says.
Even just one month after his liver surgery in 2025, Dave and his family could be seen delivering gift bags to patients who were now where he once sat.
“It’s not a lot,” he says, “but hopefully it makes somebody’s day a little brighter.”