Richard Zelkowitz, MD, has been hired as Regional Medical Director of the Breast Program for the Fairfield Region. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise in hematology, oncology and breast health to St. Vincent’s Medical Center and the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute.

Dr. Zelkowitz is a familiar presence in Fairfield County, coming to us from Norwalk Hospital, where he joined the medical staff in 1989. While there, he served as chief of hematology/oncology and co-director of the cancer center, as well as a consultant with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Department of Medicine.

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.

Dr. Zelkowitz is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the CancerCare 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.

Dr. Zelkowitz will see patients beginning this Spring at the Elizabeth M. Pfriem SWIM Center for Cancer Care on the St. Vincent’s Medical Center campus. To make a referral, please call 203.874.3830.