Gerardo Antonio Vitiello, MD - Northwell Health Physician Partners at Huntington

Martin Karpeh, MD, is the director of surgical oncology at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute for Northwell facilities across eastern Long Island. He is based at Huntington Hospital, where he is chair of surgery.Dr. Karpeh specializes in gastrointestinal tumors, including stomach and esophageal cancer, and cancers of the gastroesophageal junction-the area where the esophagus and stomach join. In the 1990s, he helped introduce minimally invasive laparoscopic staging techniques that now guide treatment decisions, helping doctors determine whether patients receive chemotherapy before surgery for gastroesophageal junction cancer. He also treats soft tissue sarcomas and skin cancers, including melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and Merkel cell carcinoma.Passionate about helping others from a young age, Dr. Karpeh was inspired to go into medicine by his parents-his father was a physician, his mother a pharmacist. "I couldn't imagine doing anything else," he says.After a surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Karpeh spent more than a decade there as an attending. He then spent 20 years leading surgical oncology programs at Stony Brook University Medical Center, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Health.At the Cancer Institute, a well-integrated team approach to care ensures Dr. Karpeh's patients receive the best possible treatment. "We draw on specialists from all the hospitals affiliated with the health system at our multidisciplinary tumor boards," he says.Dr. Karpeh has spent decades working in clinical trial development and frequently refers patients to national and international clinical studies. He is involved in translational research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to identify treatment targets in stomach and esophageal cancers, and has published more than 100 journal articles on stomach and gastroesophageal junction cancer.A member of the International Gastric Cancer Association, the Society of Surgical Oncology and the American Surgical Association, Dr. Karpeh is also the former president of the New York Surgical Society, New York Cancer Society and the Society of Black Academic Surgeons. Additionally, he has been named a Castle Connelly Top Doctor and New York Magazine Top Doctor over many years.His patients drive his dedication to the field. "You have to take the time to ask questions and carefully listen to your patients to understand exactly what their unique needs are," he says.

Magdalena Pomykol-Petryk, MD, is a specialist in hematology and oncology at Northwell Health. While growing up in Poland as the daughter of two doctors, she always envisioned becoming a physician herself, and graduated from the Medical Academy of Bialystok before coming to the United States in 1990. After that, she completed residencies at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Mount Sinai St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, followed by a fellowship at Columbia University College. Dr. Pomykol-Petryk chose oncology as her specialty because she wanted to make a difference in the lives of patients suffering from cancer. For her, the most appealing aspect was depth of patient care, which involved entire families and lifelong relationships. "As an oncologist, you have interactions with patients from the very beginning, you get to know them and family members, their lives, what matters to them, and you're truly part of this special bond," she says. "The level of intensity is huge, and that's what I like. I appreciate being able to make a difference in these patients' lives." Though Dr. Pomykol-Petryk sees many breast cancer patients, she also provides care for a variety of malignant hematology cancers including lymphoma, myeloma, and chronic leukemia, as well as non-malignant hematology conditions. She appreciates the high level of collaboration available at Northwell Health, and specifically at Huntington Hospital, where she practices. "Our team is excellent, and patients never feel alone," she says. "It truly feels like we're all one family. We work together so there's a seamless patient experience. Whether you're talking to the check-in person, the phlebotomist, chemotherapy nurses, or me, you'll feel cared for. That's the most important thing to us." What she's learned from her patients is strength, she adds. Getting to know each patient on a deeper, personal level and see their resilience and grace in the midst of a difficult diagnosis and treatment is inspiring, says Dr. Pomykol-Petryk. "We're all so grateful to know these amazing patients and to help them on their journey," she says.