MD
Chief of Medicine, City of Hope Phoenix
At City of Hope, the multidisciplinary team approach is the norm, and not the exception. All the physicians and clinicians meet on a regular basis to discuss the best treatment plan for each patient.
Dr. Toufic Kachaamy joined City of Hope Phoenix in July 2013. As a gastroenterologist trained in advanced endoscopy, including endoscopic ultrasound, he helps care for patients fighting pancreatic, stomach, esophageal, colon, liver or bile duct cancer at our Phoenix hospital. As Chief of Medicine at City of Hope Phoenix, Dr. Kachaamy has clinical leadership responsibilities for several medical departments and supportive care services.
Dr. Kachaamy shares the same passion towards patient care that City of Hope embraces. “Here, the multidisciplinary team approach is the norm, and not the exception. All the physicians and clinicians meet on a regular basis to discuss the best treatment plan for each patient,” says Dr. Kachaamy, who also serves as Medical Director of Gastroenterology. “To me, the collaboration among providers is critical in providing whole-person care.”
Board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Kachaamy earned a medical degree from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. He then went on to complete an internship in internal medicine at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Additionally, he completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond Virginia. Dr. Kachaamy completed an advanced endoscopy fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix in 2012. He is also a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.
Dr. Kachaamy holds positions on a number of medical society boards, including as an Innovation Committee member with the American College of Gastroenterology and as Chair of the Endoscopic Oncology Committee for the Foundation for Interventional & Therapeutic Endoscopy. He chairs of a national conference focused on innovation and endoscopic oncology, and is a member of the Medical Advisory Board for the Colon Cancer Coalition.
Dr. Kachaamy is a clinical researcher in the fields of cancer quality-of-life outcomes and cancer ablation, including cryotherapy. His research has been published in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, expert reviews of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Current Opinion in Gastroenterology. He has also given many research and oral presentations in national meetings on topics related to digestive health. An innovator and pioneer, he invented a simple device called the Sure Access Needle, which helps doctors access the bile duct during an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), one of the biggest challenges to a successful ERCP. The device won the 2021 AGA Shark Tank contest hosted by the American Gastroenterological Association.
One of Dr. Kachaamy’s professional goals is to advance the field of endoscopic oncology, which involves the use of endoscopy in the GI oncology setting. He founded an annual conference, Advances and Innovations in Endoscopic Oncology and Multidisciplinary Gastrointestinal Cancer Care, to bring industry leaders together. He is known as a leader not only throughout the Phoenix endoscopy community, but also nationally through his work as Chair of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy’s Special Interest Group in Endoscopic Oncology.
Dr. Kachaamy believes in one objective: Providing the best possible care to the patient in a compassionate way. “I tell my patients, if it can be done, we will do it.”
In his spare time, Dr. Kachaamy enjoys traveling, learning about new cultures, cooking and skiing. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and three sons, and was recently recognized as one of Phoenix's favorite dads.