Patricia Rich,MD

Dr. Patricia Rich embodies compassionate care—welcoming her patients at City of Hope Atlanta with smiles and hugs and caring for them as if they were members of her own family.

As a Medical Oncologist at City of Hope Atlanta, Dr. Rich focuses primarily on treating lung cancer, sarcomas, and breast cancers, but also treats other solid tumors as well as head and neck cancers and melanoma. She takes time to sit with her patients, listening to their concerns, answering their questions and encouraging them to maintain hope and optimism. She also empowers her patients and their families, involving them in the decision-making process when recommending treatments. Education is a major component of the personalized care Dr. Rich provides to her patients. She explains their diagnosis and treatment options in detail and at a level they can understand.

“I believe that if patients learn about their cancer diagnosis, their treatment options and anything their treatment involves, including side effects, they will have more hope and be better equipped to manage their cancer journey,” Dr. Rich says.

Board-certified in internal medicine, with a sub-specialty in medical oncology, she earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida, where she graduated cum laude. She then earned her medical degree from the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida, where she received several awards, including Outstanding Medical Student of the Year 2000 for Excellence in Internal Medicine. Dr. Rich also completed a fellowship in hematology-oncology at the University of South Florida, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, and a residency in internal medicine at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. In 2005, she received the Foundation Merit Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

When she originally joined City of Hope in 2006, Dr. Rich served as Director of the City of Hope Lung Cancer Center at City of Hope Chicago until 2013, when she moved and held the same position at City of Hope Atlanta. In 2020, she briefly left City of Hope when an opportunity arose at an Atlanta-area thoracic oncology program—an experience that Dr. Rich says made her more well-rounded. But after two years, she was ready to return to City of Hope Atlanta as Medical Oncologist.

Dr. Rich has published work on metastatic renal cancer in the prestigious Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and has conducted research on several types of cancer, including malignant melanoma, advanced renal cell carcinoma and basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, in addition to extensive research on immunotherapy. A former member of the Georgia Leadership Board of the American Lung Association, Dr. Rich has also served on the American Lung Association’s Lung Cancer Expert Medical Advisory Panel, which provides the American Lung Association with strategic advice on critical lung cancer science and lung cancer-related issues.

Before pursuing her medical degree, Dr. Rich studied to be a dancer at the National School of Dance in Argentina, where she was born and raised. She was inspired by her mother, a renowned dancer, but looking back, she says doesn’t regret her decision to put away her leotards and dancing shoes in exchange for a stethoscope and lab coat.

“I always knew I wanted to be a doctor. Caring for people has always been my true calling,” says Dr. Rich, who speaks English and Spanish fluently. Growing up in Argentina, her father encouraged her and her siblings to give back to the community, going to impoverished neighborhoods and helping administer polio vaccines. She became passionate about caring for others through medicine at young age, translating into her practice as a City of Hope medical oncologist.

“At City of Hope, I  can offer patient-centered, high-quality care while support patients—mind, body and spirit—throughout their cancer journey,” Dr. Rich says.

Outside of City of Hope, Dr. Rich and her husband, a retired firefighter, run a farm with sheep, ducks and chickens along with several rescue animals and pets. She loves spending time with her family of three adult children and the elderly parents she cares for. She recently picked up her kids’ favorite hobby, video gaming, and finds it a great way to unwind.