Keck School Faculty

Patients and families struggle to navigate life-threatening illnesses and the overwhelming decisions that come along with it. While focusing on the sick body is often the priority, I deeply appreciate that patients and their caregivers have emotional and spiritual selves that suffer too. I believe that taking care of a whole person and their family requires a team. My specialty team and I can provide expert relief of symptoms like pain, or help with emotional and spiritual distress. Just as importantly, we help patients clarify and communicate their most important goals and values to their families and medical teams. This helps them better weigh the benefits and burdens of sometimes complex treatment options. We aim to make a difficult journey a little less frightening for each of our patients, and to guide them to the right treatment choices, according to what they value most.