Stephani Christensen found her calling working with cancer patients as a fourth-year medical student at UNR.
“Not only did I get to work with one of the best radiation oncologists in Nevada — Comprehensive Cancer Centers’ Dr. Raul Meoz, whom I now call my colleague — I also developed a passion for working with cancer patients,” Christensen said. “As a doctor, any patient you are helping becomes special to you, but in oncology, it’s more than just treating patients. I develop long-term relationships with most of my patients and their families, because we are in this journey together.”
Christensen — who earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania and completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Rush University in Chicago — joined Comprehensive Cancer Centers as a hematologist and medical oncologist in May 2017.
“I see a combination of medical oncology, malignant hematology and benign hematology patients. Some of these patients have been newly diagnosed with cancer, some are in the middle of the treatment, and others have completed treatment and are following up. I am responsible for administering chemotherapy as well as other treatments,” said Christensen, who has been focusing more on breast cancer as her practice has grown. She also participates in a number of clinical trials, currently serving as the principal investigator for two Phase III trials. “I plan to open two more metastatic breast cancer trials in the next two months.”
Christensen is on the board of directors of the Susan G. Koman Nevada and also is a member of the Breast Center Leadership Committee at Sunrise Hospital.