Cancer Care / Oncology

Patient-centred care is provided by our interdisciplinary team of medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, specialized nurses, radiation therapists, social workers, dietitians, pharmacists and others. We ensure that patients’ physical and emotional needs are met through the delivery of their own personalized treatment plan.

Our program has a longstanding relationship with Cancer Care Ontario and the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) Regional Cancer Program. This partnership ensures comprehensive, integrated cancer care services are accessible locally to the people of Niagara. Our program works together with a number of community and system partners including:

• Ontario Breast Screening Program
• Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant – Home and Community Care
• Canadian Cancer Society – Niagara unit
• Wellspring Niagara
• Hospice Niagara
• McNally House Hospice
• HNHB Regional Palliative Care Network
• Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre
• Clinical trials organizations such as Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
• Rose Cottage Visiting Volunteers (Grimsby & West Lincoln)  

• 67,000 square feet of quality patient-centred care, enhancing the treatment and quality of life for cancer patients and their families.
• State-of-the-art radiation treatment suites.
• Systemic therapy suite with floor-to-ceiling windows and a welcoming home-like environment.
• Specialized infusion rooms for patients who require isolation for infection prevention and control purposes.
• A healing garden and many green features.

Dr. Levesque is the Chief of Oncology at Niagara Health and Medical Director at the Walker Family Cancer Centre (WFCC). He completed his medical degree and postgraduate training in Internal Medicine in Toronto before going on to receive Medical Oncology certification at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver. Dr. Levesque focuses his practice on genitourinary, gynecologic and skin cancers. He is also an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Oncology at McMaster University.

Dr. Qawi is the Head of Systemic Oncology at (WFCC). She joined the WFCC team as a Hematologist/Oncologist in 2014, treating patients with Multiple Myeloma, Lymphomas and other blood cancers. She completed fellowships in Bone Marrow Transplant and Hematology/Oncology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Dr. Ishkanian is the Deputy Head of Radiation Medicine. Dr. Ishkanian graduated from medical school at the University of British Columbia. He completed residency in Radiation Oncology acting as Chief Resident at Princess Margaret Hospital at the University of Toronto. Dr. Ishkanian has been is a Radiation Oncologist at the Walker Family Cancer Centre since 2018 where he focuses on lung, gastrointestinal and palliative radiation oncology.

Dr. Bisson attended medical school at McMaster Niagara campus and joined the WFCC team as a Medical Oncologist in 2022. She has a particular interest in breast cancer and women’s health. Dr. Bisson is also able to converse with our patients in French.

Dr. Bokhari received his medical degree from Dow Medical College and completed his residency in Internal Medicine, and Internship in General Surgery from the University of Massachusetts, Berkshire Medical Centre. Dr. Bokhari works as the Oncology Hospitalist, providing care and consultation for patients of the Walker Family Cancer Centre who require inpatient care at Niagara Health.

Dr. Robert Clayden received his Medicine degree from University College in Dublin, Ireland.  He did an Internal Medicine Residency and Hematology Residency at Queen’s University in Kingston.  Dr. Clayden is part of the Hematology Program at the Walker Family Cancer Centre.

Dr. Conen is an experienced medical oncologist with a specialization in palliative care. Dr. Conen completed her medical degree in 2003 at the University of Wurzburg in Germany. In 2016, Dr. Conen moved to Canada and became an Assistant Clinical Professor with the Department of Medicine McMaster University and an Adjunct at the Department of Family Medicine, Division of Palliative Care. Her clinical work is focused on early palliative care integration in advanced cancer patients at the Walker Family Cancer Centre.

Dr. David Cuthbert graduated from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and went on to complete Radiation Oncology residency at McGill University. His clinical interests include lymphoma, skin malignancies, breast cancer and bladder cancer.

Dr. Dinniwell is a Radiation Oncologist at WFCC. He completed his Medical Degree at Queen's University, Kingston, and residency training at McMaster University, Hamilton, and the University of Toronto. Dr. Dinniwell's clinical practice at the focuses on radiation treatments for upper gastrointestinal cancers, advanced treatments for liver metastases, and supporting breast cancer care. 

Dr. Duboff completed her residency at Western University in Family Medicine. She completed her palliative care traineeship at McMaster University. Her palliative care clinical work is focused on in-patient, outpatient and in the community setting focusing on chronic disease management and malignancy. Her interests are in early integration of palliative care and mental health. She is currently an adjunct clinical professor in the department of Palliative Care at McMaster University and enjoys teaching. 

Dr. Mohammad Ebraheem completed his Medicine degree at the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain and his Internal Medicine and Clinical Hematology Residencies at McMaster University in Hamilton. He then completed a clinical fellowship specializing in multiple myeloma and amyloidosis at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Ebraheem is part of the Hematology Program at the Walker Family Cancer Centre.

Dr. Janice Giesbrecht obtained her medical degree and completed residency training in Medical Oncology at McMaster University. In 2020 Dr. Giesbrecht completed her second term as Chief of Oncology at Niagara Health, and now works with the hematology team.

Dr. Abhirami Hallock is a board-certified radiation oncologist who specializes in the treatment of breast, genitourinary, poly-metastatic, and central nervous system cancers. Her practice is committed to increasing access to advanced radiation treatments for patients throughout the Niagara region.

Dr. Hallock earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from McMaster University and completed her residency training in radiation oncology at the University of Western Ontario, where she also served as a chief resident. She has completed fellowship training in the treatment of brain tumors and holds specialization certificates in the use of GammaKnife and SBRT for spine. In addition, she holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors from McMaster University and a Masters of Health Law from the Osgoode Hall Law School.

In 2013, Dr. Hallock joined the Niagara Health Walker Family Cancer Centre as a staff radiation oncologist and served as the Medical Head of the Department of Radiation Oncology for six years. She has received numerous awards and honors, including the Ed Brecevic Award for excellence in patient-centered compassionate care.

Dr. Kodous is a Medical Oncologist who joined WFCC in January 2022. She received her medical degree from the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University in London and completed her Medical Oncology training at the University of Toronto.  She completed a clinical GI/GU fellowship at Princess Margaret and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Dr. Linda Lee is a Medical Oncologist at the Walker Family Cancer Centre. She is the Site Lead for Skin Cancer at the Walker Family Cancer Centre. Dr. Lee also treats lymphomas and gastrointestinal cancers and is Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University.  She graduated from medical school at the University of Alberta.  Dr. Lee is the Head of Clinical Trials and Medical Oncology Research at the Walker Family Cancer Centre. 

Dr. Leonard is a graduate of The University of Toronto Medical School, with specialty training in Hematology from McMaster University. He obtained his Doctorate in Biomedical Research from McMaster in Thrombosis. He is the Head of Service for the Benign Hematology and Thromboembolism program at the Walker Family Cancer Centre and the Director of the Niagara Thrombosis Service and its Research Division.

Dr. Maida has been a Hematologist/Oncologist at the Walker family Cancer Centre since 2015. She graduated from medical school and completed the Hematology and Oncology programs at McGill University.

Dr. Nguyen graduated from medical school at the University of Ottawa. He completed his residency training in Radiation Oncology at McMaster University and finished a clinical fellowship at the Odette Cancer Centre in Toronto. Dr. Nguyen has joined WFCC as a Radiation Oncologist, treating central nervous system, genitourinary, skin, and hematologic malignancies.

Dr. Phillips received his medical degree from the University of Queensland, in Brisbane Australia, and his Medical Oncology Training Program from the University of Toronto. He joined the Walker Family Cancer Centre as a Medical Oncologist in 2019.

Dr. Refaei is a Benign Hematologist and Thrombosis physician at Niagara Health. He completed medical school, Internal Medicine and Hematology residencies at the University of Alberta. He is the regional lead for Subspeciality Selectives at M. G. DeGroot School of Medicine- McMaster University (NRC). He is an Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct) at McMaster University and is the Physician Lead and Chair of the Clinical Utilization Committee at Niagara Health. He has interests in quality improvement and medical education.

Dr. Salib is a Hematologist at the Walker Family Cancer Centre, having joined the group in 2017.  She is a graduate of the Michael G. Degroote School of Medicine at McMaster University. She completed her Internal Medicine training at McMaster University before going on to complete her Hematology fellowship at the University of Toronto. Dr. Salib is also an adjunct professor at McMaster University. Her areas of focus include leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.

Dr. Tharmabala is a graduate of McMaster University Medical School, and has done extensive further training at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.

Dr. Thiyagarajah is a Benign Hematologist and Thrombosis physician at Niagara Health. She completed medical school at McMaster University, Internal Medicine residency at Western University, and Hematology residency at the University of Toronto. She has an interest in medical education and is an Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct) at McMaster University.

Dr. Rachel VanderMeer received her Medical Doctorate degree at the University of Western Ontario. She went on to complete residency training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at McMaster University. In 2013 Dr. VanderMeer joined the Walker Family Cancer Centre as a Medical Oncologist treating patients with lung and breast cancers. She is an Adjunct Clinical Professor with the Department of Oncology at McMaster University.

Dr. Wasserman graduated from Queen’s University medical school. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at McGill University followed by residency training in medical oncology at Queen’s University. He treats thoracic, genitourinary, and colorectal cancers. Dr. Wasserman is an Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct) at McMaster University.

Dr. Yelamanchili is the gastrointestinal cancers disease site lead at the Walker Family Cancer Centre (WFCC). She obtained her medical degree at NTR University of Health Sciences in India, and completed the Medical Oncology training program at McMaster University. She has been a Medical Oncologist at WFCC since 2010.