Meet our Oncologists

A group of highly trained, board-certified oncologists serve patients at the Skagit Valley Hospital Regional Cancer Care Center. To help you get to know our cancer care physicians a little better, we've included the following biographies:

Medical Oncology

George F. Gjerset, MD: A graduate of the University of California and the University of California Medical School, Dr. Gjerset performed his residency at the University of California at Irvine and Long Beach Veterans Affairs Hospital and his fellowship at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He served as principal investigator and assistant professor at the University of Washington on an NIH grant and ran an immunology lab for 10 years before joining the local practice. He is board certified in internal medicine and oncology. He joined North Puget Oncology eight years ago and splits his time between Skagit Valley Hospital’s cancer care clinics at Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon and Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington.
 

Mehrdad Jafari, MD: Dr. Jafari joined the Skagit Valley Hospital Regional Cancer Care Center in February 2008 after three years as an assistant professor of medicine in hematology-oncology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Among his special interests are gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies and head and neck cancers. Dr. Jafari studied GI cancers, including colon, esophageal, liver, pancreas and stomach, during his 2004 clinical externship at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. Dr. Jafari received his medical degree from the Würzburg School of Medicine, Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany.


Theodore "Ted" Kim, DO: The Medical Director for the Skagit Valley Hospital Regional Cancer Care Center, Dr. Kim is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, with a Master’s degree in molecular cell biology from West Virginia University. He graduated from West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, which has an emphasis on holistic care. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the Albany Medical Center in New York, recently completed a Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, Mass. and is board certified in medical oncology. Dr. Kim joined the practice in July 2006. 

Dr. Kiarash Kojouri: Dr. Kojouri joined Skagit Valley Hospital Regional Cancer Care Center in August 2009. Dr. Kojouri is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology and hematology. He performed his residency with the Department of Medicine and the University of Oklahoma Medical Center where he also had his fellowship in hematology and oncology. He most recently served as an assistant professor of hematology and oncology at the  University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He will direct clinical research efforts at the Regional Cancer Care Center and work closely with Seattle Cancer Care Alliance on the latest in clinical trials.


Radiation Oncology

Dr. David Kantorowitz, MD, PhD: Dr. Kantorowitz started out to become a Clinical Psychologist receiving his Master’s degree and PhD in Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University in 1974 and 1976 respectively. He subsequently practiced and did research in Clinical Psychology while on staff as Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at Cal State University in San Bernardino. In the early 1980s, he became interested in medicine; he received his MD at University of California at San Francisco in 1983 followed by an internship at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle in 1984 and residency in Radiation Oncology at University of Rochester Cancer Center in 1987. He then practiced and did research as an Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Colorado Health Science Center until joining North Puget Radiation Oncology in 1989. He is board certified in Radiation Oncology and serves as the Radiation Oncology Medical Director for Skagit Valley Hospital.

Surgery

Mark Johnson, MD, a general, thoracic and vascular surgeon with Skagit Valley Medical Center, is the Surgical Medical Director for the Skagit Valley Hospital Regional Cancer Care Center. Dr. Johnson is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Washington Medical School. He served a general surgery residency at Virginia Mason Medical Center where he also was Chief Resident and Fellow in general surgery.