Dr. Martin Goodman
Director of Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Program at Tufts Medical Center
Dr. Martin Goodman is one of the top doctors for peritoneal mesothelioma in the world. He works at Tufts Medical Center in downtown Boston. He is a master of cytoreduction/HIPEC surgery.
Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Tufts Medical Center
800 Washington St., Boston, MA 02111
More About Mesothelioma Specialist Dr. Martin Goodman
Dr. Goodman is a surgical oncologist with a focus on peritoneal surface malignancies, such as peritoneal mesothelioma. He’s one of many peritoneal mesothelioma specialists trained at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). This is where he completed a surgical oncology fellowship and learned about HIPEC (hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy).
Dr. Goodman is also an assistant professor of surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine.
- Medical Degree from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway Township, N.J., 1994
- Residency in General Surgery at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., 2000
- Fellowship in Surgical Oncology at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2002
- Board‑certified in General Surgery
- Membership in the American College of Surgeons, Society of Surgical Oncology, New England Surgical Society and American Society of Clinical Oncology
- Received the Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award
Get Connected to Dr. Martin Goodman
Dr. Goodman leads one of the first HIPEC treatment programs in the United States. He is highly skilled at HIPEC and cytoreductive surgery and uses a thorough approach to remove tumors from the abdominal cavity.
Why Choose Dr. Goodman?
- Works with multidisciplinary team at Tufts Medical Center
- Learned HIPEC at prestigious UPMC fellowship
- Located in downtown Boston for easy travel access
Experienced Surgeon for HIPEC Procedure
Dr. Goodman is one of the top surgeons for performing HIPEC with cytoreductive surgery. He has performed approximately 500 of these operations at Tufts Medical Center. He sees roughly 5‑6 cases of peritoneal mesothelioma per year.
His protocol for cytoreductive surgery involves removing the omentum and any visible tumors. This includes even microscopic cells separate from the main disease. He said many centers and surgeons leave these cells for HIPEC, which washes the cavity and kills small cancer cells.
“My attitude is every little thing I can get out, I should get out,” he said.
Other organs possibly removed are the spleen, gallbladder and part of the colon. He removes the peritoneum (peritonectomy) if he sees large tumors in the area. If not, he doesn’t take out this lining.
Patient Reviews for Dr. Martin Goodman
Dr. Goodman is highly regarded by his colleagues and patients. He has mostly five‑star reviews on the Tufts Medical Center website.
One patient feedback from May 2021 said, “Dr. Martin Goodman, I feel, always listened to what I had to say and tried to figure out the best suitable way to fix the problem or recommended another doctor that I should see or call. I would definitely recommend Dr. Martin Goodman to someone.”
His approach to communication is effective. Dr. Goodman builds a relationship with his patients, which includes learning how much they know about mesothelioma. Then he educates about cell type, treatment options and more.
“I say doing nothing (for treatment) is obviously bad,” he said. “Being aggressive with HIPEC and debulking has the best chance of keeping you around longer.”
What to Say and Not Say to Patients
He avoids saying the surgery can cure. The likelihood is small cells will remain hidden in the abdominal cavity. Recurrence is always possible. However, removing most of the tumors adds to the life expectancy.
He also avoids giving expected survival times. This is due to the wide disparity in survival: some cases being six months and some a decade.
“I say to them, ‘Okay, let’s take this one day at a time. We’ll do the surgery, do the follow-up, and go from there.’”
How to Contact Dr. Goodman at Tufts Medical Center
You can easily get in touch with Dr. Goodman to schedule your first appointment. The simplest way is to connect with one of our patient advocates. We can work with you on getting your medical information to Dr. Goodman and his team at Tufts Medical Center.
The first step is contacting our lead patient advocate, Karen Ritter. She’s a registered nurse and can answer any medical questions. Email her at karen@mesotheliomaguide.com. You can also sign up for our free Doctor Match program to get our recommendations for mesothelioma specialists.
Sources & Author
- Martin D. Goodman, MD. Tufts Medical Center. Retrieved from: https://www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org/physiciandirectory/martin-goodman. Accessed: 10/06/2021.
