Meet Dr. Lisa Chaiken

Compassionate. Highly competent. Hard-working. That is what Dr. Lisa Chaiken, a Radiation Oncologist, would like her patients to know about her.

“I have always wanted to help people in need,” says Dr. Chaiken. “Being a physician is one of the best ways to do this. I also believe that being a doctor is the perfect blend of science and humanity. I loved science classes throughout my education and medicine humanized all those interests. I appreciate that I can combine amazing medical treatment but still see and interact with patients to directly apply the science. The bond between a patient and doctor should be very supportive and compassionate to help a patient successfully complete their treatment goals, and I enjoy making this happen.”

She goes on to add, “I want to treat you as a whole patient and address your concerns and be a physician liaison for your care. My responsibility is to guide you through your cancer treatment as easy as possible and meet your needs. I think it is tragic when patients are either denied access to medical care or refuse care due to some type of bad experience in the medical field. I am here to support patients in all ways.”

Dr. Chaiken was born and raised in California. She experienced cold and snow while attending Harvard University for her undergrad degree so does know what she’s getting back into with choosing to live and practice in Sioux City. After Harvard, Dr. Chaiken headed back to California to be with family and practiced there for more than 30 years before moving to Siouxland. Throughout her career and experience, Dr. Chaiken is most proud of being elected by other physicians to the Best Doctors/Super Doctors in the Los Angeles Hall of Fame for over 15 consecutive years and considers it the highest honor to be recognized by her peers. Additionally, she appreciated being a part of emerging cancer care when she won the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Residents Essay Award for head and neck cancer and PET scanning response, marking the earliest use of this diagnostic imaging.

As a previous chair of a hospital’s cancer committee, Dr. Chaiken understands quality and compliance issues and the importance of data for tumor registries. She has worked in breast cancer by being active in multidisciplinary breast clinics, tumor boards, and journal clubs. Dr. Chaiken has specifically looked at access and disparity in care for patients throughout her career for breast cancer and other tumors.

“Cancer treatment is such an exciting field with advances coming out so frequently,” Dr. Chaiken states. “I have seen so many amazing changes for the benefit of patients during the years of my practicing.” She adds that she is passionate about teaching professionals, patients, and their families about cancer prevention, treatment, and recovery/survivorship.

In her free time, Dr. Chaiken likes to listen to beautiful music like Beethoven, Mozart, Opera – and really all kinds of music. She enjoys reading, especially about true life experiences and inspirational stories. Dr. Chaiken also rescues dogs and cats and networks with many animal rescue groups to try to help out animals in need.

The June E. Nylen Cancer Center is collaborating with Nebraska Medicine to employ our radiation oncologists. While Dr. Chaiken’s contract is through Nebraska Medicine, she is solely dedicated to practicing at our Cancer Center and is living in Sioux City. This collaboration is an advantage to our providers and patients allowing us to take advantage of the benefits an academic medical center offers, like direct access to specialists, research, and expanded clinical trials. We are working hard to bring additional specialized oncology services to patients here in Siouxland to save the cost and time of traveling out of town.