Beatrice Bloom, MD, is vice chair of the radiation medicine department at Northwell Health’s R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center. Board certified in radiation oncology, Dr. Bloom specializes in gynecological, breast and skin cancers. She is also an assistant professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Dr. Bloom’s path to treating cancer was partly inspired by her maternal grandmother (and namesake), who died of metastatic breast cancer, as well as her mother’s experience with melanoma. While in medical school, she completed a fellowship in radiation oncology at the Bristol Royal Infirmary in England. After receiving her medical degree from Albany Medical College, Dr. Bloom was a resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. “What drew me to radiation oncology was the patient-physician relationship,” Dr. Bloom says. She especially appreciates the time that she gets to spend with patients. “Patients tell me that I’m interested in them rather than their disease.” As a member of the multidisciplinary team and coleader of the Gynecology Disease Management Team, Dr. Bloom works closely with medical, surgical and gynecological oncologists. Together with each other and with our patients, we consider options for treatment that can range from supportive care to enrolling on a clinical trial to craft the best plan for our patients. Dr. Bloom credits her team within the radiation oncology department — including residents, nurses, radiation therapists, social workers, nutritionists and administrative staff — for helping patients navigate their treatment. “With the multidisciplinary approach to personalized medicine, there are a lot more things to coordinate,” she says. “I look at my patients as the whole person they are,” she says. “I rely not only on the science, which we are always expanding, but also on all the facets of their lives to help me make recommendations about what I think their treatment path should be and together to make the decision. And the treatment path isn’t just the radiation. It’s all of the journey.”