Press Release October 13, 2023

Surgeon awarded prize for providing care few dare to talk about

The 2023 Mogren Medicine Prize is awarded to Dr Marie-Louise Lydrup, surgeon and chief physician at Skåne University Hospital. Dr Lydrup is awarded the prize of SEK 250,000 for her distinguished care provision for patients rehabilitating after pelvic cancer, a complex treatment associated with severe stigma.

"Surgeons must have the courage to tell a patient that they could lose their sexual function after pelvic cancer surgery. There is still a reluctance to talk about it, both due to uncertainty among surgeons and the sensitive nature of the topic. If you know your patient very well, you can build a relationship based on trust in which these matters can be discussed," says Dr Marie-Louise Lydrup.

With a prize sum of SEK 250,000, the Mogren Prize is Sweden's largest prize for clinically active physicians. Dr Marie-Louise Lydrup is rewarded for her many years of work to strengthen pelvic cancer rehabilitation, an area she believes has been overlooked for a long time, as well as for her commitment to strengthening patient care.

Marie-Louise Lydrup works as a colorectal surgeon, specialised in complicated pelvic surgery. She is also one of Sweden’s anal cancer surgeons. She teaches at many levels in the healthcare system, and she is known for her extensive and inexhaustible care of her patients.

"When you are at your sickest, there has to be continuity in your care. Unfortunately, that is not the case today. Healthcare ought to be needs-based. You should be familiar with your doctor, you should not have to wait for an unreasonable amount of time to get your results, and you should have the certainty that someone will give you the best possible care the entire time," says Marie-Louise Lydrup.

This is why Marie-Louise Lydrup educates resident doctors and doctoral students, and organizes courses for surgeons in the Southern Healthcare Region in Sweden. She is known for her exceptional communication, conversational methodology, and her passion for changing the way doctors interact with their patients.

"Healthcare must be organized to allow for continuous patient encounters that provide a sense of safety. Marie-Louise Lydrup's enormous commitment to her patients goes far beyond what is expected today – but in reality she shows what we all need," says Harriet Wallberg, Chair of the Mogren Foundation and Professor of Physiology at Karolinska Institutet.

From the motivation: "Dr Lydrup has shouldered an incredibly complex, stigmatised and overlooked need for care, pelvic cancer rehabilitation, and thus made it possible for countless patients to have a better life after cancer. She demonstrates an inexhaustible commitment and care for her patients, far beyond what is expected."

The Mogren Medicine Prize is awarded annually in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet. The prize will go to an active clinician who places great emphasis on empathy and patient contact. The prize money, SEK 250,000, is individual.

The Mogren Medicine Prize was awarded on 12 October 2023 at Karolinska Institutet in Solna.