Dr. Nitika Thawani

Dr. Patel is a radiation oncologist at the Dignity Health Cancer Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. He is board-certified in radiation oncology and has clinical expertise in brachytherapy. Dr. Patel received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine. He completed his internship in medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and subsequently his residency in radiation oncology at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY. He then completed his fellowship in brachytherapy at the University of California, Los Angeles under the guidance of one of the pioneers of prostate high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy. During his fellowship, he had extensive training in brachytherapy for prostate, skin, gynecologic, and sarcomatous cancers.Dr. Patel aims to educate his patients regarding their diagnosis and guide them in making a treatment decision after carefully reviewing the risks and benefits of each option.  He has special expertise in the management of prostate and skin cancers, and is able to provide individualized treatment approaches within a context of evidence-based medicine.   For prostate cancer, Dr. Patel offers external radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy, and high-dose-rate brachytherapy all in combination with hydrogel placement in order to reduce rectal toxicity. For skin cancer, Dr. Patel offers external radiation therapy as well as custom skin mold high-dose-rate brachytherapy which can significantly shorten treatments and reduce dose to surrounding tissues. Dr. Patel is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Kaposi Sarcoma. His top areas of expertise are Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma, Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, and Stomach Cancer.