“A product of this community”: How Dr. Blake Blancher gives back to the Northshore

There’s no place like home. Just ask Dr. Blake Blancher.

Dr. Blancher, a medical oncologist, has worked at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center’s Slidell and Covington locations since 2024. He may be relatively new to the organization, but when it comes to his roots in the Northshore area, it’s a different story.

“I was born in New Orleans but I moved over to the Northshore, to Mandeville, when I was entering the third grade,” he said. “Mandeville is where I was raised.”

Blancher’s journey home was something of a winding road. Though he went to school on the Northshore, his medical education soon carried him further afield – first to LSU in Baton Rouge, then to Mississippi College in Clinton, MS, then back to Louisiana where he earned his medical degree from the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport. He completed his training in Temple, TX, as a hematologist and oncologist.

Initially interested in biology, Blancher became intrigued by cancer in the early 2010s when new technology fueled exciting new developments, particularly in the burgeoning field of immunotherapy.

“There was a big change in the landscape,” he recalled. “Scientists began to harness our own immune systems to fight cancer, and when I heard about that in grad school it really stoked my interest.”

In addition, watching a relative go through a cancer diagnosis showed him the impact oncologists could have on those in need.

“When I was at medical school, my father-in-law received an aggressive cancer diagnosis,” he said. “Observing his experience with his disease and treatments really changed my viewpoint on what a doctor should be and what doctors could do for patients. I saw how important providing support, building trust and developing a relationship with a patient was.”

While his first roles out of medical school were in Shreveport and Temple, Blancher always dreamed of returning home. “I’ve always had a lot of family in the area,” he said. “When my father-in-law passed … I made a promise that I’d be back to help take care of my family.”

Last year, that dream was realized. A trip home convinced him to reach out to Mary

Bird Perkins, and it turned out a role was available. After nearly two decades away, he was home.

“I immediately fell back in love with the South Louisiana culture that I’d been removed from for so long,” he said.

“There’s a sort of uniqueness of serving your hometown, your home parish. It’s been incredibly rewarding to give back to the community that molded me – I’m a product of this community, and being able to give something back, and serve its people, is something very special.”