We sat down with the new medical director of the cardio-oncology program at Penn Medicine, Dr. Michael Fradley, to learn a bit about himself and what motivated him to pursue a career in cardio-oncology and electrophysiology.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and what you like to do outside of practicing medicine?
I grew up outside of Cleveland, Ohio and moved to the east coast after graduating high school to attend Yale University. I did my medical school training at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and stayed at Johns Hopkins for my residency in internal medicine. I then moved to Boston and completed fellowships in both cardiology and electrophysiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. After my training, I headed south to Tampa Florida where I started the cardio-oncology program at Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida.
After 7 years in the sun, I’m thrilled to be back in the Northeast here at Penn. My pride and joy is my daughter Madison and we are excited to experience all that Philadelphia has to offer. I’m a Peloton fanatic and as a family, we love to travel and cannot wait to get back on the slopes skiing this winter.
What inspired you to study medicine?
I was always excited by science, and medicine was a natural opportunity to directly apply this passion in a meaningful way to the world around me. Medicine is more than a profession, it truly is my calling. It is an incredible honor to care for people when they are sick and at their most vulnerable, and then to play a part in their journey to recovery and improved health.
Why did you choose to specialize in cardio-oncology and electrophysiology?
It’s obviously a bit of an unusual career path, especially for someone who trained in electrophysiology to also specialize in cardio-oncology, but when I did my training in Boston, I began seeing a substantial number consults from the oncology services related to arrhythmias. So from an intellectual standpoint, I became intrigued as to why there were so many arrhythmias in this patient population. At the same time, I was diagnosed with melanoma. Fortunately, I am now healthy, but because of this personal connection to both cancer and cardiovascular disease, and I wanted to figure out a way to put those two passions together to better care for patients.
What is your philosophy on patient care?
I believe in patient-centered health care and I strive to ensure a patient’s values and goals are considered with every decision and conversation. I will passionately advocate for my patients at every step of their health care journey. Given that my specialty is cardio-oncology, it is also essential to develop a strong team-based approach to patient care so that we can make a patient’s health care experience as simple and stress-free as possible while continuing to deliver high quality care.
Dr. Fradley is board certified in cardiovascular disease, clinical cardiac electrophysiology and internal medicine. He sees patients at the Heart and Vascular Center in the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine.