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Our Cancer Specialists in Arizona
Gordon L. Grado, M.D., FACRO, FACR, Ph.D. (hc)
The well-being and safety of our patients is our main priority and the driving force behind each one of us.
Our team approach for the care of cancer patients means that our radiation oncologists work closely with your family physicians, internists, medical oncologists, and surgeons to ensure that each patient receives integrated care for their particular cancer. This team approach is carried forward into the meticulous planning and delivery of treatment with our staff of medical physicists, medical dosimetrists, and radiation therapists.
He received his M.D. degree from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and completed his internship at the University of Chicago followed by a residency to specialize in the treatment of cancer with radiation at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Dr. Grado established his brachytherapy program in 1989 while he was the Chairman of the Radiation Oncology Department located at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. After reviewing various techniques and programs that were available to treat prostate cancer, Dr. Grado and a team of other specialists developed the first interactive program that would utilize both biplane transferal ultrasound and fluoroscopic imaging. To date, Dr. Grado has personally performed over 4,000 brachytherapy procedures.
In June of 2000, Dr. Grado was personally invited by Jane Hull, the Governor of Arizona to be a member of the Prostate Cancer Task Force.
For several years, Dr. Grado has been affiliated with the University of Minnesota Radiation Oncology Staff as an associate professor. It allows Dr. Grado the chance to work with an interdisciplinary team of experts in radiation therapy, urology, and medical oncology to continue his commitment to conducting groundbreaking research and providing exceptional patient care.
Dr. Grado continues to work with radiation facilities around the world to help in the training and the perfection of prostate brachytherapy. Among the international sites Dr. Grado has visited are San Paulo and Porto Alegre (Brazil), Mexico City (Mexico) and Beijing (China). Dr. Marcio Fagundes of the Centro de Oncologia Radioterapica de RGS (COR) invited Dr. Grado to travel to Brazil and teach the seed implant procedure to urologists and radiation oncologist in Porto Alegre.
See Dr. Grado’s Curriculum Vitae: click HERE
Robert O'Laughlin, M.D.
Dr. O’Laughlin works as a board-certified Radiation Oncologist at our Bullhead City facility. He has nearly 30 years of private-practice experience in both hospital-based and freestanding cancer centers. Originally from Cambridge, MA, he grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers University with honors. After obtaining his MD at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, he completed residency in Radiation Oncology in 1991 at Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center in Camden.
Before arriving in Bullhead City, Dr. O’Laughlin held staff privileges at prestigious medical centers in Delaware, Maui and Las Vegas. He’s been an active participant in clinical research trials at the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) and rhe Gynecology Oncology Group (GOG). And he has also served as a preceptor for Radiation Therapy students in training.
Dr. O’Laughlin has a special interest in treating prostate, head & neck and dermatologic cancers, as well as pain management and hospice care. He has extensive training in accelerated partial breast irradiation, stereotactic body radiotherapy, and brachytherapy techniques. He has also served as an expert witness in malpractice litigation cases.
Dr. O’Laughlin is very active in community outreach, with roles at local health fairs, charity events, and prostate and breast screening clinics. As a compassionate, energetic and highly motivated specialist in cancer care, he routinely earns the highest doctor reviews from his patients.
Valerie P. Israel, D.O.
Valerie Israel, DO is a Medical Oncologist at our Bullhead City facility. Dr. Israel’s expertise includes general medical oncology and hematologic malignancies, as well as benign hematologic diseases; she is board certified in Medical Oncology.
Dr. Israel received her medical degree from the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, California. She completed her internship and residency training in Internal Medicine in 1992 at Los Angeles County Medical Center/University of Southern California, where in 1995 she completed fellowships in Medical Oncology and in Hematology. She then remained on staff as full-time faculty and assistant professor at USC/LACMC and Kenneth Norris Cancer Center.
After working in private practice in Los Angeles from 2001 to 2013, she left the chaotic life of southern California to move to Arizona. Following time at the University of Arizona/St. Joseph’s Cancer Center in Phoenix, she joined Southwest Oncology Centers to practice rural medicine, where she believes she can do the most good.
As a two-time cancer survivor herself, Dr. Valerie Israel feels deeply connected to her patients. Outside of work, Dr. Israel’s compassion is directed to her rescue sanctuary for abandoned animals. Since 2015, she has lived on her 40-acre ranch in the Peacock Mountains in Kingman, with her many horses, goats, dogs, cats, chickens, and even tortoises. In her sparse spare time, she does oil, acrylic and watercolor painting.
Dr. Antonio Fontelonga, M.D. Bio
Board Certified Hematologist and Medical Oncologist
Dr. Antonio H. Fontelonga is the head Hematology and Medical Oncology physician at our Southwest Oncology Centers (SWOC) facilities in San Luis and Yuma.
Dr. Fontelonga was born and raised in Portugal. He attended the University of Porto Medical School and later completed his training at the University Hospital. After 13 years of service in Internal Medicine and in Family and Ambulatory Care in Lisbon and Porto, he moved to the United States in 1992.
Following residency and fellowship programs in Internal Medicine at UNLV
in Reno, Nevada and in Hematology and Medical Oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center/Strong Medical Center in upstate New York, he achieved Board Certification status in these specialties.
From 1999 to 2003, Dr. Fontelonga was consultant in Hematology and Medical Oncology in both Porto and Minneapolis. Thereafter, he worked for 12 years in Reno in the Internal Medicine Residency Program of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, as Professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology. Relocating to Minnesota for 4 years, he worked there as
Hematologist and Medical Oncologist, and he was Director of the Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby and of the Riverwood Cancer Center in Aitkin. Then returning to the Southwest, he became Director of the Cancer Care Center at Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City, NM – a facility affiliated with the University Of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
Since 2021, Dr. Fontelonga worked at the AZ Cancer Center in Yuma, before recently joining our team at SWOC. He has been deeply involved in patient and public community education and is an active participant in conferences. He is the proud father of one beautiful daughter. He also enjoys reading and traveling.
Richard P. Levy, M.D, Ph.D.
Board Certified Radiation Oncologist
Dr. Richard Levy was born and raised in New York City and received his MD from Boston University School of Medicine. He completed residency programs in Internal Medicine at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and in Radiation Oncology at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Southern California, and he became board certified in both specialties. Dr. Levy earned his PhD in Biophysics from University of California at Berkeley, where he was presented the Einstein fellowship award as the Outstanding Graduate Student in Neuroscience Research.
Since 1983, Dr. Levy has done pioneering work in stereotactic radiosurgery (neurosurgery-like treatment with radiation beams), and precision correlation of MRI and CT scans to target brain lesions. And he was an early physician advocate for synchro-cyclotron accelerator treatment with proton beams and heavier charged particles. He has published numerous articles and book chapters in the medical-science domain.
Dr. Levy’s significant academic titles have included appointments as: Medical Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Assistant Adjunct Professor of Diagnostic Radiology at UC-San Francisco; Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University Medical Center; and Full Professor of Radiation Medicine (Oncology) at Loma Linda University Medical Center.
Dr. Levy has traveled to all 50 states and every continent except Antarctica, as a backpacker and physician-scientist. He continues to be an organizer and director of international conferences on the medical applications of accelerator technology. As a life-long athlete, Dr. Levy continues to enjoy skiing vacations around North America. He and his beautiful wife Donna have been married for 40 years. They have three wonderful children and (thus far) two energetic granddaughters.
See Dr. Levy’s Curriculum Vitae: click HERE