Specialty Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Facility Sacramento Medical Center Department of Pediatrics - Hospital and Specialty Care Address 2025 Morse Avenue Sacramento CA 95825 Telephone Appt/Advice: (916) 973-7342 E-mail your doctor

My Qualifications

I am board certified in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology by the American Board of Pediatrics. I received my medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco and completed my Pediatric Residency at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center in Sacramento. My Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship was completed at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Thereafter, I served on the faculty of both St. Jude's and U.C.Davis before starting a private Pediatric Oncology practice in Sacramento in 1994. I joined The Permanente Medical Group in 2001 in order to focus my energies on direct patient care, without the distractions of preapprovals, authorizations, denials, and appeals that so often interfered in private practice. Now I am part of a team of specialists focused exclusively on the care of children (less than 18 years old) with cancer or disorders of the blood. I am particularly interested in children with abnormal bleeding or clotting, and have found Kaiser to be most receptive to the special needs of these patients.

My commitment to the care of children with cancer stems from a desire to give such children the best possible chance to beat their illness. That is also why Kaiser participates in COG, the Children's Oncology Group, so that state-of-the-art clinical trials are available to give our members the best known therapies. New drugs and advances in clinical research are immediately available to us through COG's links to the National Cancer Institute.

My Healthcare Practice

My practice style is best described as "aggressively optimistic". I believe that by intensively micro-managing the care of children with cancer or blood disorders, it is possible to acheive outcomes better than the national average. This seems particularly possible at Kaiser because of our integrated care model, with excellent coordination of the clinic, hospital, pharmacy, radiology, and all the ancillary sevices necessary to provide optimal patient care.

Some of my professional research interests include bleeding disorders, inherited cancers in children, and complementary & alternative cancer therapies. Remember that it is very important tell your doctor about any herbal remedies, nutritional supplements, or alternative therapies you use. Equally important are the preventative measures we can all take to avoid cancer. Smoking, obesity, and excess sun exposure are the three risk factors we can all control, to minimize the risks of cancer in ourselves and our loved ones. While there are currently no screening tests for cancer in children, our Kaiser team is participating an ongoing study to identify potential risk factors for childhood leukemia, the single most common form of childhood cancer.

My Outside Interests

When I’m not working I enjoy hiking, snow skiing, and spending time with my wife and son. They help me fundraise for the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Sacramento and Northeastern California, on who's local Board I served for ten years. Now I participate as a volunteer doctor at Camp Okizu for children with cancer, and have recently joined the Okizu Foundation Board to initiate a fundraising campaign in Sacramento for Camp Okizu. I also volunteer in the Infirmary of "Camp Hemotion" for children with bleeding disorders, in conjunction with participation on the Board of the Central California Hemophilia Foundation. Thanks to strong administrative and monetary support from Kaiser, I enjoy a synergistic relationship between my career and my charitable endeavors.

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My Credentials

Medical school	UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Internship	UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Residency	UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Fellowship	St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
Board certification	Pediatric Hematology/oncology, American Board of Pediatrics

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