The Lee County Medical Society presented Dr. James Rubenstein, a board-certified radiation oncologist at Advocate Radiation Oncology, with the organization’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize his substantial contributions to the medical profession.

Presented Nov. 21 at Forest Country Club in Fort Myers, the Lifetime Achievement Award is given annually to an individual who has contributed substantially to the goals and ideals of the medical profession over a significant term of service in Lee County.

Rubenstein is a pioneer in radiation oncology who has devoted nearly five decades of his life to patient care, including the last 35 years in Southwest Florida. Over the years, Rubenstein has successfully treated thousands of cancer patients, saving the lives of those facing the most aggressive forms of breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon and rectal cancer, and head and neck cancer.

Certified in internal medicine through the American Board of Internal Medicine and in radiation oncology through the American Board of Radiology, Rubenstein’s academic pedigree includes degrees from Yale University and New York University before he trained at programs through Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. He was an assistant instructor in internal medicine for Harvard’s School of Medicine and an assistant professor of radiation oncology and co-director of Penn’s radiation oncology residency program. He has held medical licenses in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. 

After moving to Florida, Rubenstein was chairman of the department of medicine at Columbia Regional Medical Center, which later became Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center. He also was a clinical assistant professor in the department of radiology at the University of Miami School of Medicine. In 1983, Rubenstein joined a team of local physicians to found 21st Century Oncology, a Fort Myers-based practice that eventually became the world’s largest operator of cancer treatment centers with 179 locations across the U.S. and Latin America. Rubenstein also served as a board member and medical director for 21st Century Oncology. In 2019, Dr. Rubenstein again played an integral role in establishing another cancer treatment practice, Advocate Radiation Oncology, which has since grown to include 10 locations.

An avid researcher, Rubenstein's findings and abstracts have appeared in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology, International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Brachytherapy and additional peer-reviewed publications. He has served as president of the American College of Radiation Oncology, a national organization that provides opportunities for career development and practice improvement to enhance patient care, and on the board of directors for the Florida Medical Association, which represents 25,000 members statewide and advocates for physicians and their patients to promote the public health, ensure the highest standards of medical practice and to enhance the quality and availability of health care.

Rubenstein treats patients at Advocate’s cancer treatment centers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral.

About Advocate Radiation Oncology

Advocate Radiation Oncology has a mission to provide compassionate health care expertise to cancer patients. The practice’s world-class, board-certified radiation oncologists and researchers trained at some of the nation’s top medical schools and access industry-leading technology to treat patients with breast, prostate, lung, brain, head and neck, rectal, liver, bone, cervical and other types of cancers. Advocate is a locally owned practice with nine cancer treatment centers across southern Florida. For more information, please visit AdvocateRO.com.