Percy Lee

For radiation oncologist Percy Lee, M.D., patients’ needs come first. He works closely with experts from other disciplines to offer each person an individually tailored treatment plan based upon both their clinical history and their emotional and social needs. An active listener, he aims to understand what is truly on a patient’s mind.Dr. Lee went to Harvard Medical School, where he graduated magna cum laude from the research-oriented Health Sciences and Technology program, an inter-institutional collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He continued as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute research fellow, studying the process by which tumors prompt the growth of new blood vessels in order to feed and spread. Dr. Lee then completed an internal medicine internship at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a residency in radiation oncology at Stanford University, where he served as chief resident in his final year.As a physician, he finds satisfaction in his oncologic …specialization, which enables him to eradicate cancer and reduce suffering in patients facing tumors of the lung and gastrointestinal tract. Dr. Lee is delighted to increase City of Hope's reach and help establish its radiation oncology research network in his role as medical director of Orange County radiation oncology and vice chair for clinical research in the Department of Radiation Oncology.Dr. Lee joined City of Hope from MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he was executive section chief in radiation oncology and section chief of thoracic radiation oncology. As executive section chief, he worked alongside the division head and other section chiefs to align and execute the clinical and research priorities of the department of radiation oncology. As thoracic section chief, he partnered with other leaders to improve access to multidisciplinary care and clinical trials for patients through the thoracic service line efforts. Before that, he was chief of UCLA’s services in thoracic radiation oncology and gastrointestinal radiation oncology as well as vice chair of education and residency program director. There, Dr. Lee initiated leading-edge programs in stereotactic body radiation therapy, which uses high doses to precisely treat tumors, and MRI-guided radiation therapy, which employs advanced imaging technology to accurately identify the specific area where treatment should be focused.With a number of family members who received treatment at City of Hope, Dr. Lee always aspired to work for this type of institution, with its mission to care for cancer patients in his own Southern California community. Fluent in Mandarin, he likes to spend his free time with his wife, son, and daughter, as well as watching basketball and occasionally playing a game or two with friends.