Alexandria Z. Lahdya, MCHS, PA-C

What do you value about your work?

I enjoy helping patients heal and progress and improve through their cancer care. I want patients to get an opportunity from the first visit to share a bit about themselves and what they value, and for it to be a comfortable, welcoming, warm space where they feel cared for.

I came into patient care from a background in public health and public policy studies, so I see systemic problems and the overwhelming inequity that exists. But I know that these large-scale problems won’t only be solved with large-scale solutions. We can also take steps at the individual level to make an impact on one person’s care at a time. I think my role allows me to do this.

What do you hope it's like for a patient to work with you?

Health care is such an individual experience. My goal is to target and tailor care to each patient and for us to work together to determine what is best for them. That’s not always something that people perceive to be possible with health care, but for many of us providers, the goal is to make our care as focused on each patient’s life and personal goals as possible.

I am also very passionate about addressing health inequities, especially the racism that exists in medicine. I think it’s really important for providers to stand up, speak out and be vocal about areas where patient care and outcomes are affected. The relationship we develop with patients during cancer treatment is a very trusting one, and we can use this as an opportunity to listen and make changes based on what we hear.

Provider Background

Specialty: Urology

Area of clinical practice

Urologic oncology

I am a physician assistant-certified who sees patients at UW Medical Center – Montlake.

I work in the Prostate Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic treating a variety of urologic cancers.

Previously, I worked in clinical research on traumatic brain injury prevention and palliative care. I was interested in the hands-on aspects of clinical research, so I joined the team here and did a variety of clinical trials related to bladder and prostate cancer. I liked working directly with patients, so I went back to school to become a physician assistant, and then I was recruited to join the team here again.