Internist, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center
Dr. Miles Hassell is dedicated to helping patients improve their quality of life through integrative medicine, which combines natural and conventional therapies. He emphasizes noninvasive, nonpharmacological approaches such as exercise, diet and naturopathy that stress prevention and self-care. Growing up in Australia, Dr. Hassell was raised in a family who believed strongly in taking care of their own health and filled their home with medical books. He went on to medical school at the University of Western Australia, completing his internship in medicine there as well. Dr. Hassell came to the United States to serve a residency in internal medicine at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, where he now is a board-certified internist.
- Dr. Hassell established Providence Cancer Center’s Integrative Medicine Program, which incorporates evidence-based complementary therapies into the conventional medical model.
- Providence Cancer Center is one of only a few cancer programs nationwide to emphasize integrative medicine. Through massage therapy, naturopathy, acupuncture, diet, exercise and other approaches, the Integrative Medicine Program is helping patients to ease the side effects of certain treatments and to enhance their quality of life.
- Dr. Hassell lectures widely to physician groups on the benefits of diet and exercise as a major component in treating a range of diseases, including cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
- A clinical instructor in the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, Dr. Hassell has been chosen twice as the residency’s "Outstanding Teacher of the Year."
- He was one of seven internists selected by their peers for the "Portland Top Doctors" recognition, published in Portland Monthly magazine in January 2005.
"My goal is to see more research into and practice of low-cost, patient-directed interventions. We are seeking funding of randomized trials to further test the effectiveness of diet, exercise, massage and other promising complementary therapies. I believe that soon many of the therapies we now call alternative will be considered routine good medicine."