Victor R. Risch, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Risch has made understanding and treatment of cancer his life’s work. He received a PhD in cancer research at the age of 24 and then went on to medical school with the goal of becoming a cancer doctor. He graduated from Hahnemann University (now Drexel University School of Medicine) in 1980. He then proceeded to study Internal Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and became Board Certified in Internal Medicine.

Dr. Risch went on to Johns Hopkins to study Medical Oncology and do cancer research, becoming Board Certified in Medical Oncology. He then was placed on the faculty at Johns Hopkins where he continued to practice Medical Oncology while at the same time taking a preceptorship in Radiation Oncology. He subsequently became Board Certified in Radiation Oncology as well. He was promoted to Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins and has the distinction of being the only faculty member in the history of Johns Hopkins to practice both medical and radiation oncology at the same time.

Ultimately realizing that being a doctor taking care of patients was the most important and satisfying part of his career, Dr. Risch left Johns Hopkins in 1988 and moved to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the largest hospital in the state of Pennsylvania. There, he restricted his practice to Radiation Oncology and became department chairman before the age of 40. He was the driving force behind the development of two Cancer Centers at the Lehigh Valley Health Network, developing the Radiation Oncology program into one of the largest and most sophisticated programs anywhere. Along the way, he received numerous honors and accolades in for patient care, research, teaching, administration, management and business.

Dr. Risch formally retired from full-time practice in 2009 due to personal and family commitments. Because of his love of medicine and patient care, however, he soon began part-time work in 2010. Over the next 10 years, he worked in large and small hospitals, free-standing cancer centers, academic medical centers, and university medical centers. He was well received by patients, staff and colleagues, and gained further knowledge and experience with different treatment approaches in these various settings.

In 2018, Dr. Risch began a rewarding association with Dr. Martin Hightower at Grand View Hospital in Sellersville, PA. Dr. Risch is pleased to be able to continue this association with Dr. Hightower at the MidLantic Urology Prostate Center and looks to bring his expertise along with that of Dr. Hightower to provide excellent, compassionate care to patients with prostate cancer.

When asked what Dr. Risch considers his greatest accomplishment over his career, he notes that his numerous awards for excellence as a doctor from patients and peers carry the most meaning for him.