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Heather Bitar,

Supportive Care Medicine Physician

Biography photo
Location
Duarte Comprehensive Cancer Center
1500 East Duarte Road
Duarte, CA 91010
Specialties
Palliative Medicine
Supportive Care Medicine
Education
Medical school:
Board Certifications
  • Hospice and Palliative Medicine

  • American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine

Degrees
  • 2014, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA

  • 2008, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Fellowship
  • 2017-2018, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles, CA

Residency
  • 2014-2017, Internal Medicine, Community Memorial Health Systems, Ventura, CA

Professional Experience
  • 2018-present, Assistant Clinical Professor, Division of Supportive Medicine, Department of Supportive Care Medicine, City of Hope, Duarte, CA

Academic Appointments
  • Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Supportive Care Medicine
About Me
With modern medical advancements and people living longer with complex and chronic illnesses, we have to treat the whole person in addition to the specific disease.”
 
After receiving her Doctor of Osteopathy medical degree from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California, Heather Bitar, D.O., continued her training in internal medicine at Community Memorial Health Systems in Ventura, followed by a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles.
 
Dr. Bitar chose to specialize in palliative medicine in order to help cancer patients cope with “the physical, psychosocial and emotional realms of their care, which, if not addressed effectively, can greatly affect the outcomes on patients' prognosis and overall quality of life.”
 
Dr. Bitar is drawn to City of Hope's “dedication to provide leading-edge and high-quality patient care.” She plans to advance the field of palliative medicine through teaching and research. Her areas of interests include implementation of programs that involve nonpharmacologic ways to manage pain, in addition to developing curriculum aimed at teaching others how to have ongoing value-based treatment discussions. She hopes to “get to know patients and their families, navigate them through their illness and tailor what treatments make most sense for them based on their values.”
Patient ratings
Star ratings and comments are only available for medical, radiation and gynecologic oncologists. Gynecologic surgical offerings are not included at this time due to a different survey tool required to evaluate these services. CTCA uses a validated Press Ganey® survey, which captures patient experience feedback for the primary oncology services of chemotherapy and radiation therapy at our comprehensive care and research centers. Following industry best practice, star ratings and comments are only published for physicians with a minimum of 30 completed patient surveys.