Radiation Oncology
Bharati Bhate, MD, is board certified in radiation oncology. Dr. Bhate received her training at Hines VA Hospital and has been the medical director of Illinois Regional Cancer Center since 1993. She is now turning those responsibilities over to her son, Dr. Amit Bhate. Dr. Bhate’s 30+ years experience includes treating cancerous prostate, head, neck, and brain tumors with radiation therapy.
Dr. Bharati Bhate has been providing radiation therapy in DeKalb for 20 years, and now hopes her son, Amit, will be here another 30 so the Bhate family can say they served the community for 50 years. She was the first radiation oncologist in DeKalb and the first joint venture partner with KishHealth System. With her son now as medical director, she is especially proud to pass the practice on to the next generation, once again advancing cancer care for the community.
She credits her father for her career in medicine. One of five children, her father insisted that one of them become a doctor. His vision became her inspiration. In medical school, she met her husband to be, who was a radiologist. That led to her decision to pursue a similar field “so we could go to the same meetings,” she joked. Her reward has been a career of helping patients, easing their pain, and getting to know them. The gratitude of her patients feeds her compassion. Thirty years ago there were no computers for radiation therapy. “We used scans and measured the size and placement of the tumor with a ruler,” Dr. Bhate said. Today’s advanced technology spares healthy tissue from radiation exposure, reduces side effects, and gives patients hope.
