Dr. Atis Barzdins, a medical oncologist at Seattle Cancer Treatment & Wellness Center (SCTWC), is thrilled to be working for a cancer center that serves patients with high expectations for quality care who are motivated to look “outside the box” for solutions.
“My job is to facilitate those solutions,” he says. “I am an educator for my patients. I partner with them and their loved ones to make genuinely informed decisions.”
Dr. Barzdins is a board-certified hematologist-oncologist who began working with the Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center (SCTWC) in December 2010. He was attracted to Cancer Treatment Centers of America, the network of hospitals and medical facilities that includes SCTWC, because of its reputation as “an organization that looks for innovation."
Dr. Barzdins received his medical training in Latvia and the United States. He has been in practice since 2004, treating patients with cancer and blood diseases, most recently at Advanced Hematology and Oncology Centers in Florida.
He received his medical doctorate in 1994 from Medical Academy of Latvia, graduating in the top 10th percentile of his class. He went on to complete internal medicine residencies in Latvia and New York, and a hematology-oncology fellowship at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University College of Surgeons and Physicians in New York, NY.
His experience includes serving patients and local Indian reservations at Four Corners Oncology-Hematology in Durango, CO; and providing medical management at a hematology-oncology practice that was expanding to serve The Villages, a community near Ocala, FL.
As one of four physicians at Advanced Hematology and Oncology Centers, he provided the largest proportion of inpatient consultations, regularly participated in tumor boards, and gained experience in the introduction of an electronic medical record system.
Fluent in three languages, Dr. Barzdins has authored and co-authored several articles and publications on oncology, chemotherapy and working in the American health care system.
His interests include travel, world history, sports activities, and playing and writing music.
“I continue to be fascinated by the unique opportunities in the field of oncology, in terms of rapidly developing knowledge and the ability to intervene,” he says. “Working alongside an integrated care team allows me to serve my patients with even more focus and compassion, taking time to address the emotional and psychological dimensions of their care, which I recognize as important to the overall success in their treatment.”