M.D., F.A.A.H.P.M.
Chief of Supportive Care and Integrative Oncology; Associate Clinical Professor of Supportive Care Medicine, City of Hope Cancer Center Chicago
Our goal is to bring more people through to post-treatment survivorship with fewer symptoms and less suffering, so they have the best survivorship experience possible.
University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Internal Medicine – Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Supportive Care Medicine
Hospice and Palliative Medicine – American Board of Internal Medicine
Monica C. Malec, MD, FAAHPM, is a nationally recognized leader in the field of supportive care and palliative medicine. As Chief of Supportive Care and Integrative Oncology at City of Hope® Cancer Center Chicago, Dr. Malec oversees a range of clinical programs and services that help patients manage complex symptoms and health challenges related to cancer or its treatment.
Experiences early in life informed Dr. Malec’s desire to pursue a career in medicine, but her commitment to patients has remained central to her philosophy of care.
“I’m excited to join City of Hope in part because it recognizes the importance of mind-body wellness,” says Dr. Malec. “I look forward to the opportunity to build our supportive care program and more seamlessly incorporate this approach into all cancer care.”
Dr. Malec’s goal when working with patients and their medical teams is to offer an integrative approach to care that prioritizes physical, emotional and social health. This includes proactive symptom screening and management, integrating behavioral health wellness approaches into the entire cancer care journey and building a more seamless continuum of care that extends from active treatment into survivorship.
Dr. Malec has received multiple awards and honors, including frequent appearances on Chicago Magazine’s list of Top Doctors, fellowship in the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and selection as a Bucksbaum-Siegler Institute for Clinical Excellence senior faculty scholar. In addition to being involved in multiple funded clinical trials and research projects, she holds a long record of invited lectures and has published more than 30 papers in peer-reviewed journals on topics such as cancer pain, symptom management and care quality.
Prior to joining City of Hope, Dr. Malec served as Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago in the Section of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine and Prtizker School of Medicine. As director of palliative medicine clinical programs, she built embedded ambulatory palliative medicine clinics in oncology and expanded the reach of the inpatient palliative care consult service. She has also served as teacher and mentor to many medical students, residents and fellows over the course of her 30-year career.
Dr. Malec earned her medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago, completed her residency in internal medicine at Rush University Medical Center in the same city and has extensive experience in palliative, supportive and end-of-life care.
Outside of City of Hope, Dr. Malec enjoys travel, cooking, gardening, reading and crafts. She and her husband have two adult daughters and three cats and enjoy traveling together.