Dr. Kubal's Story

Dr. Timothy Kubal came to Moffitt Cancer Center as a specialist in blood diseases, focusing on difficult cancers such as acute leukemias. But he’s also a specialist in seeing the bigger picture.

That’s because he has an additional role at Moffitt. Dr. Kubal is also the Medical Director of Process Excellence, a position devoted to continuously improving the overall patient experience at Moffitt.

Dr. Kubal looks at streamlining activities within Moffitt, minimizing some of the delays that frustrate patients—from making an appointment to getting a chemo treatment to the time someone has to spend in the waiting room.

He has a unique perspective that helps him empathize with patients. In 2012, his mother was diagnosed with blood cancer. “For me, that was kind of the turning point,” he recalls. It led him to ask himself, “If my mom would have to come here, what would I want her to feel? What would I want this to be like for her?”

Questions like these drive Dr. Kubal to keep pushing to do everything he can—the big things and the little things. “You don’t want to get stuck for blood twice...how do we do it only once?” he asks. “You don’t want to sit in this kind of chair because it’s too low…how do we fix that for you?” For cancer patients who often don’t feel their best, everything matters. And why not try to fix what can be fixed?

Dr. Kubal is in awe of the courage he sees in Moffitt patients and puts enormous pressure on himself to make their most difficult days a bit more bearable.

“Sometimes your best is not good enough, but you’ve got to have the courage to go there. And what you learn is how much you were able to give back.”

This humility is a characteristic of so many at Moffitt. “I’m amazed that I’m able to work here,” Dr. Kubal admits, “Because you don’t even feel qualified to work in such a great place that helps so many people.”