It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the untimely death of Dr. Steven Coutre on November 9th, 2021 after a prolonged illness and hospitalization.
Dr. Steven Coutre was a professor of medicine (hematology) at the Stanford Cancer Center in Palo Alto, CA who treated CLL / SLL and other blood cancers.
He was a friend of the CLL Society, especially with his recent virtual support of our San Francisco support group.
I had the privilege of lecturing to other physicians with him a few times and interviewing him over the years. I always found him to be a generous natural teacher with a depth of understanding of complex scientific issues that he could make simple.
He will be missed by many, especially his many CLL patients and his colleagues in the CLL research community. We lost a strong clinician and researcher, and one of the too few true CLL experts available to care for patients.
A friend and one of his CLL patients was heartbroken when he simply told me: “He saved my life”.
Our prayers go out to his family and friends.
Stay strong. We are all in this together.
Brian Koffman MDCM (retired) MS Ed (he, him, his)
Co-Founder, Executive VP and Chief Medical Officer
CLL Society, Inc
