PRIMARY CARE

It’s so important to take a proactive approach when it comes to your health. Your primary care provider is your partner in maintaining your overall health and wellness. Our primary care medical practice is here to serve you with personalized medical care and remarkably quick onsite lab testing.

As with our hematology and oncology specialties, our primary care medical practice is personalized for each patient’s needs. We see patients for annual physicals, routine blood work, treatment of minor illnesses, care for chronic conditions, screening for disease, vaccinations, seasonal flu shots and other primary healthcare needs. When necessary, we assist our patients with referrals to other medical specialists.

Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Dr. Paul VanSweden brings his friendly, approachable style to each and every patient relationship. He listens and responds to patients’ needs while ensuring that each individual gets the recommended medical screenings and health risk assessments. He draws on his years of experience working in a large hospital system to identify issues and medical concerns that often lead to hospitalization. He works diligently and thoughtfully to help patients achieve wellness and live their best lives.

Above all, Dr. VanSweden is able to practice medicine in the best interest of the patient. As an independent primary care medical practice, Personalize Hematology-Oncology & Primary Care is not driven by arbitrary metrics, quotas or financial incentives to administer countless tests and refer to specialists within the system. We are motivated solely to provide our patients with the best care that fits their goals and values.

What does it mean to go beyond the numbers when it comes to your health? Well first, it’s about caring for the person that you are.

The practice of medicine once involved a lot more conversation – a genuine exchange of talking and listening between the primary care doctor and the patient. Today, much of what we do in medicine models what we see in our culture: algorithm-based care. Patients go through a battery of tests, and the doctor prescribes treatment based on the results (the numbers). Today’s healthcare model tends to skip right over listening, talking and examining the patient. When testing replaces doctoring, patients don’t feel cared for. They don’t feel heard or valued. We can and should do better for our patients!

Our primary care medical practice is intent on bringing a personalized approach back to healthcare. Dr. VanSweden takes the time to sit and listen to patients. He wants to find out about their interests and hobbies and about their families – in addition to their medical conditions. From this perspective, we learn what is important to them and what they value. We go beyond the numbers reflected in the lab results and translate them into results that have meaning to you, the individual patient.

Patients who are 55+ in age have different healthcare considerations than they did a few decades earlier. Some may be thinking about how they want to spend their retirement years and how their health will affect their plans. Others may already be dealing with health issues that emerge as we age. It is not uncommon to experience high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, weight gain, thyroid abnormalities, arthritis, chronic kidney disease, liver disease, sleep apnea and other conditions that require special care.

It is most helpful and advantageous to have a primary care physician who is familiar with and comfortable managing these conditions. By identifying issues early and assessing individual risk factors, our primary care doctor can help patients prevent the progression of heart disease, heart attacks and stroke.

Since our practice also specializes in oncology and hematology treatments, we offer primary care tailored to the unique healthcare needs of cancer patients, cancer survivors and hematology patients.

Thanks to advancements in cancer treatments, the number of cancer survivors is on the rise. In fact, projections indicate there will be more than 20 million cancer survivors by 2026. After patients conquer cancer, they still need to focus on long-term health to lead healthy lives and keep other issues – such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension or diabetes – in check. A primary care doctor is the main provider of care for adult cancer survivors and can diagnose and treat these issues.

Dr. Tony Castillos, our head physician is Board Certified not only in Oncology and Hematology but also in Internal Medicine, as well. He works closely with Dr. VanSweden to meet the special healthcare needs of these patients.