Cary Presant, M.D., F.A.C.C.

I believe in talking with my patients and their family to understand what's most important to them, how the cancer is a challenge to them, and then tailoring Treatments based on precision medicine to help them cure or control their disease and enjoy their lives. My patients are like family to me, so I use the latest advances to cure their illnesses and improve their quality of life in our warm and caring centers. Cary A. Presant, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.S.C.O., has been a practicing hematologist and medical oncologist in Southern California since 1979. He has always been involved in laboratory and clinical investigations, and was the director of cancer programs at Washington University St. Louis School of Medicine, the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, Citrus Valley Health Partners and St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles. Following a post as director of the Department of Medical Oncology at City of Hope, he became president in 1982 of California Cancer Medical Center, a freestanding comprehensive cancer center. In 2004, he merged his center with Wilshire Oncology Medical Group Inc. Currently he is a professor at City of Hope Medical Center, and Clinical Co-director, and Smoking Cessation Champion leader of the National Cancer Institute Moon-Shot Cancer Center Cessation Initiative (C3I) at City of Hope. Dr. Presant has authored over 400 scientific communications. His writing has included book chapters and individual articles on cancer treatment, chemotherapy sensitivity testing to predict best precision focused therapy for patients, cancer detection, chemotherapy, experimental tumor biology, pharmacology, liposomes for cancer diagnosis and therapy, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and measurement of quality of life in cancer patients. His leadership has extended to other cancer physicians and organizations throughout the country. Dr. Presant is past president of the California Division of the American Cancer Society, and past president and emeritus chairman of the board of the Medical Oncology Association of Southern California. On a national level, Dr. Presant is a past director of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world’s largest association of cancer physicians. Dr. Presant is also past president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers. He served for five years as ASCO’s representative to the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association, where he was also secretary of the Cancer Caucus and an expert adviser to the Diagnosis and Therapy Technology Assessment Program. The American Medical Association named Dr. Presant to represent them to the United States Commission on Cancer. Dr. Presant’s current research is focused on improving cancer cure and treatments through improving smoking cessation, and the development of new therapeutic programs for cancer. He has received many grants for his research from the National Cancer Institute, and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Presant also lectures on improving cancer care and new research advances throughout the country. As an oncologist, Dr. Presant is especially interested in giving his patients the best personalized therapy and the most satisfying quality of life. His personal hobbies and interests include being physically active, snow skiing, playing tennis and golfing. Photography and performing magic are his special interests. He loves spending time and traveling with his wife and family.