Richard Zelkowitz, MD, is regional medical director of the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute Breast Program in Fairfield Region.
Dr. Zelkowitz is a familiar presence in Fairfield County, having served on the medical staff of Norwalk Hospital since 1997. While there, he served as chief of hematology/oncology and co-director of the cancer center. He also founded and served as medical director of its Smilow Family Breast Health Center.
A staunch patient advocate keenly focused on both their medical and emotional needs, Dr. Zelkowitz initiated the state’s first breast navigator program to help guide patients and families through their cancer journeys. He initiated and developed a lecture series that attracted nationally-recognized speakers, developed a multidisciplinary breast cancer tumor board and launched the state’s first Cold Cap program to prevent alopecia in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.
A consultant with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Department of Medicine, Dr. Zelkowitz is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Cancer Care Connecticut Chapter’s Medical Advisory Board, the American Society of Breast Disease and the New York Metropolitan Breast Cancer Group.
He is board-certified in hematology and oncology. Dr. Zelkowitz completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology through the Brown University School of Medicine and a second fellowship in bone marrow transplant through the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. He earned his medical degree from New York Medical College.