Your Medical Team for Urologic Cancers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center

Our Urologic Oncology Care Team works as a multidisciplinary group with an emphasis on bladder, kidney, prostate or testicular cancer.

  • Each of our doctors specializes in a different discipline or area of expertise. But they all share a specific interest in urologic cancer treatment.
  • During their weekly Urologic Oncology meetings, these doctors bring together their areas of expertise to evaluate each patient’s progress and treatment options.

Urologic Oncologists

Urologists – Doctors who practice urology-care of the male and female urinary tract and the male reproductive system.

E. David Crawford, MD, a professor, is the director of our Urologic Oncology Program. Dr. Crawford is an internationally recognized expert in prostate cancer. His areas of expertise include bladder cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer and testicular cancer. His clinical interests include:

  • Testicular cancer
  • Early-state prostate cancer
  • Advanced bladder cancer
  • Metastatic adenocarcinoma of the prostate
  • Hormone-refractory prostate cancer
  • Other areas of urological infections and malignancies

Our staff urologists include:

Al Barqawi, MD, an assistant professor, is the director of research in Urologic Oncology at University of Colorado Denver . His specialties and research interests include:

  • Clinical imaging and treatment of prostate cancer
  • Benign prostatic hyperplasia
  • Men’s health

Shandra Wilson, MD, is a board-certified urologist. Her primary clinical interest is urologic oncology with an emphasis on bladder, testicular and prostate cancer.

Paul Maroni, MD, is a board-certified urologist. He completed a urologic oncology fellowship. His academic and surgical interests include prostate, bladder and testicular cancer.

Fernando Kim, MD

Medical Oncologists

Medical oncologists are doctors who have specialized training in diagnosing and treating patients with cancer.

Our staff medical oncologists include:

Thomas Flaig, MD, an assistant professor, is board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. His clinical interests include:

  • Urologic oncology (prostate, testis, kidney and bladder cancer)
  • Developing new cancer therapies

L. Michael Glode, MD,  a professor, is medical director of the Grampsas Urologic Cancer Center.

  • His specialties include bladder and prostate cancer
  • His clinical interests include research in prostate and urologic malignancies

Radiation Oncologists

Radiation oncologists are doctors who specialize in treating cancer using radiation therapies.

Our radiation oncology team includes:

Brian Kavanagh, MD, a board-certified radiation oncologist whose expertise includes urologic cancers.

  • He is vice chair of our Radiation Oncology Group, a nationally recognized group with significant expertise in genitourinary cancers, as well as other cancer types.

Pathologists

Pathologists are doctors who have specialized training in diagnosing diseases. They identify diseases by viewing tissue under a microscope.

Scott Lucia, MD, is our on-staff pathologist. He is recognized internationally as an expert in prostate cancer pathology. Dr. Lucia serves as the director of the Pathology Residency Program and director of the Prostate Diagnostic Laboratory. He is a board-certified pathologist whose research interests include:

  • Mechanisms of carcinogenesis
  • Cancer chemoprevention
  • Prostate cancer
  • Growth factor regulation
  • Regulation of telomerase activity

Francisco La Rosa, MD, is an assistant professor and board-certified pathologist. His specialties include surgical pathology of the lower urinary tract.

Other team members and services:

Nurse Practitioners (NPs) – Registered nurses who have completed advanced nursing education (generally a master’s degree) and training about medications and treatment guidelines

Nurses or Registered Nurses (RNs) – A health care professional who serves as the primary point of contact for patients during the care and recovery process.

Oncology Social Workers – Help patients and their families manage the stresses that are associated with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. They also can direct you to the resources you need.

Nutritionists – Show you how you can improve nutrition and overcome nutritional problems from treatment, such as decreased or absence of appetite, altered taste, nausea and swallowing difficulty.

Complementary Integrative Medicine Specialists – Offer doctor-managed care that emphasizes the wellness and healing of the entire person, drawing on both conventional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM ).

Clinical Research Coordinators (CRCs) – work as part of the care team under the direction of clinical research associates and principle investigators. Their responsibilities include:

  • Screening and enrolling clinical study participants
  • Arranging follow-up visits
  • Ensuring that good clinical practice guidelines are followed