Kristen D. Whitaker, MD, MS
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- Research Profile
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Clinical Locations
Primary Location
Fox Chase Cancer Center
333 Cottman Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19111
Assistant Professor
Specialties
Treatment Focus
Hereditary breast cancer
Breast and Ovary Cancer Risk Assessment
Research Program
Treatment Philosophy
When caring for patients, I get to know them as individuals first. I spend time learning about their beliefs, fears, and support systems before working together as a team to create a treatment plan that provides high quality care that also aligns with their individual desires for their treatment. I ensure all patients are fully educated on their disease and disease management so that they are empowered to work together with me to make the best treatment decisions.
I strive to develop a physician-patient relationship centered on compassion, honesty, trust, and mutual respect. I aim for all my patients to leave their clinic visits knowing that they have been an active participant in their treatment decisions and that they have received the state of the art breast cancer treatments or the most-up-to-date cancer risk counseling.
Educational Background
- Masters of Science in Public Health Sciences for Clinical Professionals, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2016-2019
- Fellow, Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL, 2015-2018
- Resident, Internal Medicine, George Washington University Hospital, Washington, DC, 2012-2015
- Cancer Clinical Research Assistant, Holy Cross Hospital, Washington, DC, 2006-2007
- Medical Doctorate, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 2012
- College of Medicine Post-Baccalaureate Program, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 2008
- BA, Biological Basis of Behavior, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2006
Certifications
- Board Certified in Internal Medicine
- Board Certified in Medical Oncology
Memberships
- American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2015-Present
- American College of Physicians, 2008-Present
- American Society of Hematology, 2015-Present
- National Medical Association, 2013-Present
Honors & Awards
- Recipient, Best Research Abstract, Clinical Research, Department of Medicine Janet D. Rowley Research Day, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2017
Research Program
Research Interests
- Genetic predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer
- Breast cancer screening for high risk women
- Cancer health disparities
- Communication of genetic risk within families
Nicole Ventriglia, BS
Research Study Assistant
Sue Montgomery, RN, BSN, GCN, OCN
Clinical Genetics Nurse Navigator
Selected Publications
Whitaker Kristen, Goldstein Lori. Should Body Mass Index Guide the choice of Chemotherapy in Patients with Breast Cancer? The ASCO Post. 2020 Oct 25.
Whitaker KD, Sheth D, Olopade OI. “Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic imaging for risk-stratified screening in women with BRCA mutations or high familial risk for breast cancer: are we there yet?” Breast Cancer Rest Treat. 2020 Jul 3.
Kehm RD, Genkinger JM, MacInnis RJ, John EM, Phillips KA, Dite GS, Milne RL, Zeinomar N, Liao Y, Knight JA, Southey MC, Chung WK, Giles GG, McLachlan SA, Whitaker KD, Friedlander M, Weideman PC, Glendon G, Nesci S, Investigators K, Andrulis IL, Buys SS, Daly MB, Hopper JL, Terry MB. “Recreational Physical Activity is Associated with Reduced Breast Cancer Risk in Adult Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer: A Cohort Study of Women Selected for Familial and Genetic Risk”. Cancer Res. 2020 Jan 1; 80(1):116-125.
Guindalini, Rodrigo, Zheng Yonglan, Abe, Hiroyuki, Whitaker, Kristen, et al. “Intensive Surveillance with bi-annual dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging downstages breast cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers.” Clin Cancer Res. 2018 Aug 28. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-0200
Abstracts
Whitaker Kristen, Obeid Elias. “Differences in the Benefit of Multi-Gene Panel(MGP) Genetic Testing between African American and White Women with Invasive Breast cancer”, San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Poster Session, Virtual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, December 2020
Whitaker Kristen, Bernhisel Ryan, Kidd John, Hughes E, Rosenthal Eric, Hall Michael. “A single-institution (N=57 families) and commercial laboratory database(N=586,740) analysis of BRIP1-associated risks”, Poster Session, ASCO Annual Meeting, June 2020
Whitaker Kristen, Obeid Elias, Daly Mary. “Prevalence of HER2 positivity in BRCA-associated breast cancers”, San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, San Antonio, TX, December 2019
Whitaker Kristen, Guindalini, Rodrigo, et al. “Breast cancer surveillance in high-risk women with dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging every 6 months: Results from a single institution study, Poster session, San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, San Antonio, TX, December 2017
Clinical Locations
Primary Location
Fox Chase Cancer Center
333 Cottman Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19111
Assistant Professor
Specialties
Treatment Focus
Hereditary breast cancer
Breast and Ovary Cancer Risk Assessment
Research Program
Treatment Philosophy
When caring for patients, I get to know them as individuals first. I spend time learning about their beliefs, fears, and support systems before working together as a team to create a treatment plan that provides high quality care that also aligns with their individual desires for their treatment. I ensure all patients are fully educated on their disease and disease management so that they are empowered to work together with me to make the best treatment decisions.
I strive to develop a physician-patient relationship centered on compassion, honesty, trust, and mutual respect. I aim for all my patients to leave their clinic visits knowing that they have been an active participant in their treatment decisions and that they have received the state of the art breast cancer treatments or the most-up-to-date cancer risk counseling.
Education
Educational Background
- Masters of Science in Public Health Sciences for Clinical Professionals, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2016-2019
- Fellow, Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL, 2015-2018
- Resident, Internal Medicine, George Washington University Hospital, Washington, DC, 2012-2015
- Cancer Clinical Research Assistant, Holy Cross Hospital, Washington, DC, 2006-2007
- Medical Doctorate, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 2012
- College of Medicine Post-Baccalaureate Program, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 2008
- BA, Biological Basis of Behavior, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2006
Certifications
- Board Certified in Internal Medicine
- Board Certified in Medical Oncology
Memberships
- American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2015-Present
- American College of Physicians, 2008-Present
- American Society of Hematology, 2015-Present
- National Medical Association, 2013-Present
Honors & Awards
- Recipient, Best Research Abstract, Clinical Research, Department of Medicine Janet D. Rowley Research Day, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2017
Research Profile
Research Interests
- Genetic predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer
- Breast cancer screening for high risk women
- Cancer health disparities
- Communication of genetic risk within families
Lab Staff
Nicole Ventriglia, BS
Research Study Assistant
Sue Montgomery, RN, BSN, GCN, OCN
Clinical Genetics Nurse Navigator
Publications
Selected Publications
Whitaker Kristen, Goldstein Lori. Should Body Mass Index Guide the choice of Chemotherapy in Patients with Breast Cancer? The ASCO Post. 2020 Oct 25.
Whitaker KD, Sheth D, Olopade OI. “Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic imaging for risk-stratified screening in women with BRCA mutations or high familial risk for breast cancer: are we there yet?” Breast Cancer Rest Treat. 2020 Jul 3.
Kehm RD, Genkinger JM, MacInnis RJ, John EM, Phillips KA, Dite GS, Milne RL, Zeinomar N, Liao Y, Knight JA, Southey MC, Chung WK, Giles GG, McLachlan SA, Whitaker KD, Friedlander M, Weideman PC, Glendon G, Nesci S, Investigators K, Andrulis IL, Buys SS, Daly MB, Hopper JL, Terry MB. “Recreational Physical Activity is Associated with Reduced Breast Cancer Risk in Adult Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer: A Cohort Study of Women Selected for Familial and Genetic Risk”. Cancer Res. 2020 Jan 1; 80(1):116-125.
Guindalini, Rodrigo, Zheng Yonglan, Abe, Hiroyuki, Whitaker, Kristen, et al. “Intensive Surveillance with bi-annual dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging downstages breast cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers.” Clin Cancer Res. 2018 Aug 28. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-0200
Abstracts
Whitaker Kristen, Obeid Elias. “Differences in the Benefit of Multi-Gene Panel(MGP) Genetic Testing between African American and White Women with Invasive Breast cancer”, San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Poster Session, Virtual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, December 2020
Whitaker Kristen, Bernhisel Ryan, Kidd John, Hughes E, Rosenthal Eric, Hall Michael. “A single-institution (N=57 families) and commercial laboratory database(N=586,740) analysis of BRIP1-associated risks”, Poster Session, ASCO Annual Meeting, June 2020
Whitaker Kristen, Obeid Elias, Daly Mary. “Prevalence of HER2 positivity in BRCA-associated breast cancers”, San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, San Antonio, TX, December 2019
Whitaker Kristen, Guindalini, Rodrigo, et al. “Breast cancer surveillance in high-risk women with dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging every 6 months: Results from a single institution study, Poster session, San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, San Antonio, TX, December 2017
Related Articles
10 PATIENT COMMENTS
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5.0
March 16, 2021
Everyone is wonderful. Dr. Whitaker is exceptional.
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No Star Ratings Available
January 25, 2021
Dr. Whitaker always takes as much time is needed to answer all my questions. I would highly recommend her.
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5.0
November 04, 2020
This was the first time I met Dr. Whittaker after being followed by Dr. [...] for 20 years. I liked Dr. Whittaker and have confidence in her skill but don't know her as well yet.
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5.0
October 14, 2020
As I deal with breast cancer once again, I feel very fortunate to be at Fox Chase and to be able to work with Dr. Whitaker and Dr. [...]. They are such professionals and provide so much knowledge, care and support!! They make this cancer journey so much more bearable.
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5.0
September 22, 2020
Excellent.
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5.0
June 28, 2020
Dr. Whitaker always takes the time to answer questions and explain anything I ask.
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5.0
May 27, 2020
As always excellent service.
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5.0
May 14, 2020
Always a pleasant, respectful & informative visit.
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5.0
March 23, 2020
My experience was very good.
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5.0
January 19, 2020
always comfortable with visits
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