Sara Parke, MD

Dr. Sara Parke is a physician who specializes in cancer rehabilitation. She views her patients as partners in care.

“Together we create completely individualized rehabilitation plans based on their specific values, goals, strengths and challenges,” she said.

Having an interest in science and community service at an early age, Dr. Parke volunteered at an assisted living facility for several years. This experience made her realize how much she enjoyed caring for others and inspired her to pursue a career in medicine.

When she first began her medical education, Dr. Parke’s plan was to become a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician, but after many dinner conversations with her now husband, a radiation oncologist, she realized that cancer survivors had some of the most tangible rehabilitation needs. She went on to specialize in cancer rehabilitation.

Originally from Littleton, Colorado, Dr. Parke graduated with honors in human biology from Stanford University in Palo Alto, …California. She was then awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study neuro-ethics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. After that, she returned home to attend medical school at the University of Colorado where she was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. She completed her residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Washington in Seattle. Following residency, she completed a fellowship within the department of palliative, integrative and rehabilitation medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

“My fellowship at MD Anderson allowed me to develop the skills that I needed to develop my own cancer rehabilitation program,” she said.

After completing her fellowship, Dr. Parke created the first formal cancer rehabilitation program in the state of Arizona in collaboration with Mayo Clinic Arizona. “I am proud to report that our program has received patient satisfaction awards every year since,” she said.