Windsurfing Radiologist Brings
Innovative Cancer Therapies to Greater Seattle
Renton, WA (August, 2009)—While evaluating the next step in his medical
career as his fellowship at Northwestern University neared completion, Siddharth Padia,
M.D., who joins the Renton-based medical imaging practice Valley Radiologists this
month, had three considerations in mind.
Most important was the desire to practice where his specialty in interventional
oncology—which offers some of the most advanced and precise cancer treatments
available—would make a difference.
But he also wanted to live where he could continue to pursue his passions for
windsurfing, hiking, and other outdoor activities, and where he and his wife could enjoy
the diversity of culture—and cuisine—to which they had grown accustomed in Chicago.
“It didn’t take long to realize that Valley Radiologists had everything I was
looking for,” said Padia. “I could see immediately that the physicians were committed to
minimally invasive alternatives to conventional surgery. It was also clear that
interventional oncology would complement existing interventional services by offering
cancer treatments that, to my knowledge, are entirely new to the region. And we’d get to
live in Seattle—if you want both a vibrant urban culture and challenging outdoor
recreation nearby, you can’t do much better.”
Dr. Padia learned to windsurf on the Chesapeake Bay during his first summer in
Baltimore as a student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The son of
an international-sales professional, he has traveled extensively since his childhood in
New Jersey. The experience shaped his outlook on medicine by exposing him to the full
spectrum of healthcare throughout the world, from best to worst.
“Seeing top-notch care in Europe really widened my medical horizons,” he said,
“especially in terms of how technology can improve quality of life through more precise
treatments that reduce side effects.”
Never one to shy away from challenges, personal or professional, Dr. Padia chose
a medical specialty so advanced that it was described only two years ago by Internal
Medicine News as a “fledgling field” that showed great promise in targeting cancers
precisely with radioactive material, radiofrequency energy, or chemotherapy agents.
Applications in which he specializes include radioembolization, chemoembolization,
radiofrequency ablation, and microwave ablation.
Primarily for treatment of liver tumors, radioembolization uses a real-time
angiogram (x-ray of blood vessels) to guide a catheter into selected branches of the
hepatic artery (a major blood vessel supplying the liver) to deploy radioactive particles
precisely to tumors.
-more-
“It’s a relatively new, highly effective procedure, with low side effects,” said Dr.
Padia. “The bulk of my training and experience with radioembolization has come in the
past year.”
Like radioembolization, chemoembolization is an angiogram-guided treatment.
But chemoembolization attacks liver tumors with chemotherapy drugs.
“Chemoembolization allows us to administer higher doses than conventional
chemotherapy,” said Dr. Padia. “That can make the treatment more effective. Yet the side
effects are fewer, since the chemotherapy isn’t dispersed as much throughout the body.”
Radiofrequency ablation is effective for treating some cancers of the liver, kidney,
and lungs. Small probes are inserted through the skin, directly into tumor tissue, which is
then destroyed by heat from the electromagnetic energy of radio waves.
In microwave ablation, an electrode, typically guided by ultrasound, is placed
directly into liver tumors to administer an ultra-high-speed electrical field that destroys
cancer cells.
Padia will incorporate other promising treatment modalities such as
electroporation when they become clinically available.
He stressed that all of these procedures are complements to the full spectrum of
cancer therapies, and should be integrated into a comprehensive treatment plan developed
collaboratively with the patient’s full medical team. This includes the primary care
physician, as well as medical and surgical oncologists.
“I view my role as providing options that allow patients with a chronic illness to
go home sooner and spend less time in hospitals, which can really improve their quality
of life,” he said. “That’s what drew me to interventional oncology.”
Dr. Padia’s interventional oncology training will be an important enhancement to
the full range of interventional radiology services offered by Valley Radiologists, which
include treatments for conditions ranging from spinal fractures to uterine fibroids and
other types of tumors.
“We’re delighted to welcome Dr. Padia to our practice,” said J. Scott Bowen,
M.D., of the vascular interventional radiology team at Valley Radiologists. “He has
particular skills and experience that will enhance our ability to provide superb imaging
guided interventional and minimally invasive procedures to the Valley and Auburn
Regional Medical Centers’ service areas.”
-###About Valley Radiologists
For more than 35 years, Valley Radiologists has provided patients with high quality imaging services in
southern King County. The group formed in 1970 as a partnership of three radiologists. Today, Valley
Radiologists services seven imaging sites, including Valley Breast Center, with more than 25 radiologists.
Valley Breast Center provides early detection and continually improving patient treatment for breast
cancer and has partnered with Macy’s annually for the Breast Cancer Survivor Fashion Show. Valley
Radiologists is committed to providing patients with state-of-the-art imaging and interventional radiology
in a comfortable and caring atmosphere. For more information on Valley Radiologists, please visit
www.vrads.com