Alexander Farivar

Bio

Alexander Farivar, M.D., learned about the intricacies of mesothelioma during his fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital from renowned surgeon David Sugarbaker, M.D., but he learned an equally-important lesson in the medical field long before then.

He learned about patients. And he learned it at home.

Farivar, 39, is one of America's brightest young thoracic surgeons, a West Coast whiz at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, working 3,000 miles away from his base in Boston, where he attended medical school, trained under Sugarbaker and got his real start under his father's roof. Part of him just hasn't left the East Coast.

"I love it here in Seattle. I think it fits my personality, the weather, the water, all the outdoor activities and things to do," he said. "But a lot of what I know, what I do, still comes from Boston. It always will."

Farivar may have honed his surgical skills at Brigham and Women's Hospital, but the physician/patient relationship building that has become so important to his practice, comes from his father, a gastroenterologist and eternal optimist who still practices in Boston.

It goes well beyond anything Farivar was taught at medical school, serving him well as he carved his niche the last two years in the state of Washington as a leader in the treatment of mesothelioma and other diseases of the pleura.

It started with Mohammad Farivar, his father, who instilled the optimistic nature that marks Alexander's practice today, even as he battles a disease with no known cure.  Mohammad Farivar is an old-school doctor who happily brought his work home, inviting patients to come visit, inviting friends to ask questions about his work in gastroenterology. They didn't need an appointment, either.

Alexander and his brother, both of whom also became physicians, took notice. They took turns accompanying their father to work, occasionally skipping school to watch what he did, how he worked, how his patients responded.

Farivar still consults with his father in Boston today, even with so many miles between them, and even with patients facing distinctly different challenges.

He was one of the forces behind Swedish becoming one of the West Coast leaders in mesothelioma care. There are only 2,000-3,000 people each year diagnosed with the disease each year, which he believes makes it vital for patients to select a treatment center like his.

"I still ask my father for advice, but it's not the nuts and bolts. He's a gastroenterologist. It's more about handling people. He's the one who taught me that all the healing isn't necessarily just with the knife," Farivar said. "Part of treating people has to do with the mind, as well as the body. You can't fight an aggressive cancer like this unless you have the right mindset."

Farivar talks about finding a cure, of long-term survival, despite the long odds and the often grim prognosis patients receive. He believes there are treatment options for every mesothelioma patient.

Part of his reasoning can be traced back to his youth and family roots in medicine. And he attributes a great deal of his beliefs to Sugarbaker, who started the International Mesothelioma Program in Boston. Farivar says the renowned specialist's influence was "huge."

"When you spend a lot of time with him, you understand that people can fight this disease, that's it's not as hopeless as you might think, that you can improve the quality of everyone's life," Farivar said. "You have to help people remain strong."

Most mesothelioma cancers are caused by asbestos exposure. There is no known cure. The latency period can be extremely long (10-50 years from asbestos exposure to mesothelioma diagnosis), and the survival rate is poor.

"It's amazing sometimes how little is known about this disease, just amazing. So many physicians hardly ever see it, so they are not comfortable taking care of it," he said. "That's understandable, but there are options out there. Unless a patient goes where they handle these kind of cases, they often don't know what the options are."

Farivar is aggressive with treatment and aggressive in spreading the word about mesothelioma.  He wrote a blog about it. He recorded videos about it. He tells stories about patients who had success with treatments.

"We offer state-of-the-art, cutting-edge treatment for any patient who comes to see us. We offer care to our patients that we would offer to our own families here," he said.

He has adapted to his surroundings in Seattle, even offering a hint of the differences in treatment philosophies from the East Coast to West. Maybe it's the youthful energy he still has. Away from work, he spends time on his boat, water skiing, wakeboarding. He hikes the Pacific Northwest.

"It helps to stay balanced – professionally, and personally," he said. "I'm an active person. I talk to patients all the time about trying to stay active – and positive. We can help them."