I was incredibly excited to join Fox Chase Cancer Center after completing my fellowship in Hospice & Palliative Medicine in the Harvard Interdisciplinary Program in 2016. Fox Chase has a reputation for excellence in providing innovative, patient-focused cancer care, and I was struck by the warmth of its faculty and staff. It was clear that I would fit in well with the superb interdisciplinary palliative care team, who work hand-in-hand with other clinicians to provide supportive and palliative care while patients pursue top-notch cancer treatments.

I was drawn to a palliative care philosophy from an early age. Helping to care for relatives at home with hospice taught me the importance of a holistic approach to care that relieved symptoms and addressed the family as much as the patient. After studying the history of medicine as an undergraduate and volunteering in a hospice, I knew I would eventually pursue a career in palliative care. During medical school, even as my interest in palliative medicine deepened, I developed a love of outpatient medicine. In particular, primary care championed many of the same principles that I cared about: holistic care, quality of life, respect for autonomy, and communication. This led me to pursue a primary care residency in internal medicine and subsequently work as a primary care physician for several years.

To me, palliative care captures the essence of medicine at its best: we listen carefully to our patients’ values and provide care that best respects these values. As a specialist in palliative care, I partner with patients’ care teams to optimize quality of life by alleviating cancer- and treatment-related symptoms, helping patients and their families navigate tough decisions, and supporting them through serious illness. My academic focus is in promoting primary palliative care and training the next generation of palliative care specialists. I have been the program director of our Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship since 2018, and I oversee palliative care education for trainees and colleagues of many levels throughout the institution. This work is my calling, and it is a true honor and privilege to help people as they encounter serious illness.