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Cape Coral Living Magazine

Cape Coral/Fort Myers Dermatologist to Retire April 2021, Shares Story of Serving Southwest Florida

Dr. Anthony Fransway and his wife, Deborah.

Board-certified dermatology and vice president/partner of Associates in Dermatology Dr. Anthony Fransway has served the Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and surrounding communities' dermatological needs for nearly 30 years and has announced his retirement, effective April 1, 2021.

Originally from Fond du Lac, Wis., Dr. Fransway didn't always want to enter the medical field.

"My dad was a doctor," Dr. Fransway recounted. "He moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., when I was a year old and took a job there. I grew up in Ann Arbor. One of the main things that caught my attention was a career in music. I started playing the trumpet at age 10. When it came time to go to school, I wanted to go to Michigan's music school. My mother and father sat me down and wanted me to reconsider my decision. They explained it's hard to pay bills and make ends meet on a musician's salary and that I could always do that on the side. They also asked me to consider a school other than Michigan."

Dr. Fransway applied to Northwestern and Notre Dame, was accepted to all three schools, and eventually chose Notre Dame, where he graduated in 1978 with Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa honors. However, throughout that time he still wasn't sure what profession best suited him, even going so far as to take a vocational aptitude test that determined he "should be" a Roman Catholic priest. Dr. Fransway decided instead to pursue a career in medicine and eventually selected the "exciting and interesting" field of dermatology.

He then attended Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit with Alpha Omega Alpha society recognition, graduating in 1982, and completed his internship as well as his residency at the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., where he stayed for the first seven years of his professional career. He also met his wife, Deborah, during that period.

Dr. Fransway held the title of assistant professor and consultant in the Department of Dermatology at the Mayo Clinic and was in charge of the sexually transmitted diseases and allergic contact dermatitis sections. In 1991, Dr. Fransway joined the North American Contact Dermatitis Group and continued submitting data and research to this exclusive organization through 2016.

As a resident, Dr. Fransway was given the opportunity to visit other practitioners throughout the country, which is how he got his first taste of Southwest Florida. During his residency, Dr. Fransway became friends with Dr. K.L. Spear—a senior resident when Dr. Fransway was in his first year at Mayo. Dr. Spear had since moved to the Fort Myers area and partnered with Dr. Joe Fiore, who was an available practitioner for Dr. Fransway to visit. After staying a few weeks, he was offered a partnership in 1986, which he turned down to stay at Mayo.

When Dr. Fiore retired years later, Dr. Spear called Dr. Fransway to ask if there was anyone interested in coming down to fill that role, to which Dr. Fransway volunteered himself.

"I had a particularly busy day, getting tugged in all directions," Dr. Fransway said. "I loved being at Mayo—very stimulating and exciting—but, I always wanted to be a private outpatient practitioner."

Dr. Fransway joined Associates in Dermatology in Southwest Florida in 1993 and has spent the last 28 years serving the community. He brought Dr. Kip Cullimore with him, calling the operation, "kind of a Mayo enclave," and they are the only two left at the practice from Mayo, today, as Dr. Spear retired in 2001.

In addition to his practice of general dermatology, dermatologic surgery, and laser surgery, Dr. Fransway specializes in immunodermatology and allergic contact dermatitis, with a special interest in the investigation and assessment of occupational and allergic dermatoses, according to the Associates in Dermatology website. "He has published hundreds of articles in peer-reviewed journals and lectures both nationally and internationally. He has also been recognized in the rolls of America’s Best Doctors for eight consecutive years and recently received the Lee County Medical Society Distinguished Investigator award."

The website continues: "He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology, and an active member of the American Academy of Dermatology, the Florida Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery, and the Dermatology Foundation; Dr. Fransway has also served as both Scientific Chairman and President to the exclusive Noah Worcester Dermatological Society. In his area of special expertise, he has been both vice president and board member of the American Contact Dermatitis Society and the secretary-treasurer of the prestigious North American Contact Dermatitis Group, of which he has been a member for twenty-five years."

Dr. Fransway's upcoming retirement will be a special day, as his brother—eight years his senior—will celebrate his birthday and retirement as an attorney in Michigan on that very same day. Associates in Dermatology will address the vacancy left by Dr. Fransway as needed, but no specific plans have been announced.

As for Dr. Fransway, his plans are plentiful, and travel is at the top of the list.

"I’ve owned a motor home for 16 years and I’ve taken a total of eight trips spanning two weeks," he said. "In most fields, you can’t just run off for two months."

Dr. Fransway also said he'll be working on getting better at French in anticipation of the possibility of making summer arrangements in France, because of the summer heat in Fort Myers. Most of all, Dr. Fransway's musical inclination remains top of mind.

"As this began, I’m a trumpet player and I still play," he said. "My parents were right—I was able to continue to play on the side as a musician. I play in church every week when COVID isn’t around. In Rochester, I played with a rhythm and blues band called Incognito for four years.

"When I came to Fort Myers, guitarist/attorney Bob Barclift and I put together a band, largely made of professionals, accountants, attorneys, and business managers, who all put things aside for career, and 20 years later, Alter Ego, as it's known, is still performing! I hope to pick it up more after COVID clears."

Southwest Florida has been a special place for Dr. Fransway and his wife, as that is where they raised their son and daughter. Dr. Fransway's wife, Deborah, achieves her Master of Divinity from Bethel University in May and hopes to obtain a position as pastor somewhere—likely wherever their daughter settles down with her family. He also hopes to raise a pocket beagle in his newly gained spare time.

A major motivation for Dr. Fransway's retirement was seeing his father pass away at 64, a year shy of his own retirement and having had planned to travel and do many things. Dr. Fransway turns 65 in February. He had heart surgery at age 50 and regained his strength studying Shito Ryu Japanese karate-do for the following five years and earning a black belt under the tutelage of Dr. Timothy Brooks in 2010.

"I worked beyond what my father worked, but it is time," Dr. Fransway said. "I've loved what I do, but I love many things and you can't do these things while you're still working."

Dr. Fransway has watched Fort Myers grow along with his patients and has been proud to serve the community.

"Many of my patients, I’ve been seeing the vast majority for 15-20 years or more," he said. "One of the reasons I loved coming down here, as opposed to Mayo, where you see a patient maybe once or twice and then they go home ... Down here, you have a lasting and developing relationship. They’re as much friends as patients. The hardest thing is leaving them. It's hard to leave my partners and the office employees, too. It’s the sort of thing where you’ve grown old together. There’s a bond that develops that’s hard to break."