Sessions
Cancer and Nutrition
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM Thu
Richard T. Lee, M.D., has built a distinguished career as one of the nation’s foremost experts in integrative and complementary medicine. As medical director of City of Hope’s transformational Integrative Medicine program, Dr. Lee oversees clinical, research and educational programs related to the burgeoning field that provides patients with various therapies to improve well-being and relieve pain and stress during treatment and recovery.
Dr. Lee’s research seeks out new cancer-fighting medicines based on plants, such as European mistletoe or mushrooms, and evaluates how integrative therapies such as mind-body approaches and acupuncture can help cancer patients.
Prior to joining City of Hope, Dr. Lee was an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and the inaugural Helen Moss Foundation-Schoff Family Professor of Integrative Oncology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. In this role, he focused on his medical oncology practice while also serving as one of the first physicians in the United States to hold a unique professorship in integrative oncology. From 2009 until 2015, Dr. Lee served as the Director for the Integrative Medicine Center at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. He led the transformation of the clinical program into an evidence-based clinical service and helped establish an inpatient integrative consultation service – one of the first in the nation.
Dr. Lee’s philosophy as an oncologist is all about treating the whole patient—centering care on who they are and what they need. His practice brings together the best of Western medicine with integrative therapies such as mind-body techniques and acupuncture backed by research findings. Dr. Lee earned his medical degree at George Washington University, then pursued a residency in internal medicine at Stanford University. A Fulbright Scholarship to China Medical University in Taiwan enabled him to train in traditional medicine, focusing on acupuncture. He was also a fellow in oncology/hematology and medical ethics at the University of Chicago and in palliative medicine at Northwestern University. With Dr. Lee, patients receive the latest in cancer care combined with options such as acupuncture, meditation and yoga.
Dr. Lee’s work has led to more than 50 publications, including in peer-reviewed cancer journals and book chapters, and he often speaks nationally and internationally.