Shanthi Sivendran, MD, MSCR, MBA

Hematology, Medical Oncology
Sees patients age 18 and up
LG Health Physicians Hematology and Medical Oncology
Make an appointmentCall 717-544-9400
Headshot of Shanthi Sivendran, MD, MSCR, MBA
Penn Medicine Provider

About me

  • Melanoma Team Leader, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health
  • Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine (Hematology-Oncology)

I am a hematology/oncology physician who specializes in melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. I serve as the lead of the melanoma/non-melanoma skin cancer disease team. I was instrumental in in the development and integration of a comprehensive skin cancer program here in Lancaster that works closely with our Penn Medicine colleagues in Philadelphia. Our goal is to provide cutting edge skin cancer care closer to home. 

Additionally, I serve as the Senior Vice President of Cancer Care Support for the American Cancer Society. In this role, I am able to advocate, innovate, and educate on behalf of all cancer patients globally, nationally, and close to home. 

I feel passionately that it is important for patients to have a good understanding of their illness, transparency from their treatment team, and be an active participant in making decisions about their care. My team and I strive to provide this level of care for everyone of our patients and their families. My research interests mirror this passion and mainly involves how to improve illness understanding, communication, and ways to integrate Palliative and supportive care early in the care of patients with cancer. I have started a non-profit organization, Oncologist in my Pocket, that educates other healthcare professionals on palliative oncology.

I remain active in oncology at the national level through the American Society of Clinical Oncology. I serve on several of their committees including the Quality Care Symposium planning committee, the Question Writing educational committee, and the Editorial Board for Cancer.net.

My education and training

  • Residency: Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
  • Fellowship: Mount Sinai Medical Center

Watch video featuring Shanthi Sivendran, MD, MSCR, MBA on YouTube

Spoken languages

English
English

Reviews

Average Rating

31 reviews

Comments are submitted by patients and reflect their views and opinions. The comments are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of Penn Medicine.

Anonymous
April 2026
excellent
Anonymous
March 2026
warm caring person
Anonymous
February 2026
lovely a person as well as knowledgeable as a physician
Anonymous
January 2026
plenty of time to answer questions

Insurance accepted

Please contact the practice and/or the member services department of your insurance company for specific details before receiving services. Providers may participate in some, but not all, products offered by a health plan; providers may also accept plans at some practice locations but not others.

Locations

Penn Medicine hospital privileges

  • Lancaster General Hospital: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
Dr. Sivendran is a Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health physician.

Qualifications and experience

Treatments and Conditions

Research

Publications

Sivendran S, Lynch S, McNaughton C, Wong R, Svetec S, Moore JH, Holliday R, Oyer RA, Newport K. Anticancer Therapy at the End of Life: Lessons From a Community Cancer Institute. , J Palliat Care., 36(2): 2021,87-92

Newport K, Sivendran S. Including the Oncologist in Palliative Oncology: A Response to Nature of Discussions about Systemic Therapy Discontinuation or Hospice among Patients, Families, and Palliative Care Clinicians during Care for Incurable Cancer: A Qualitative Study. , J Palliat Med. , 23(4): 2020,451-452

McNaughton CH, Horst M, Gehron E, Sivendran S, Nguyen J, Holliday R, Newport K. Patterns of Support Service, Emergency Department and Hospital Utilization in Patients with Advanced Cancer: A Descriptive Study. , J Palliat Care., 35(1): 2020,34-39

Finlay E, Newport K, Sivendran S, Kilpatrick L, Owens M, Buss MK Models of Outpatient Palliative Care Clinics for Patients With Cancer. , J Oncol Pract , 15(4): 2019,187-193

Sivendran S, Jenkins S, Svetec S, Horst M, Newport K, Yost KJ, Yang M. Illness Understanding of Oncology Patients in a Community-Based Cancer Institute. , J Oncol Prac., 13(9): 2017,e800-e808.

Wyluda E, Newport K, Sauder M, Sivendran S. Safety and efficacy of vandetanib in the treatment of medullary thyroid cancer. , Journal of Signs and Symptoms, 3(2): 2016

Sivendran S, Galsky MD. Adverse event reporting in oncology clinical trials - lost in translation? , Expert Opin Drug Saf , 15(7): 2016,893-6

Sivendran S, Holliday R, Guittar R, Cox C, Newport K The impact of a nurse practitioner-led symptom clinic on emergency department use in cancer patients. , Journal of Community and Supportive Oncology , 14(6): 2016,268-272

Perkins SH, Stensland KD, Galsky MD, Sivendran S. Reporting quality of abstracts in phase III clinical trials of systemic therapy in metastatic solid malignancies. , Trials , 16: 2015,341

Gartrell BA, Ying J, Sivendran S, Boucher KM, Choueiri TK, Sonpavde G, Oh WK, Agarwal N, Galsky MD. Pulmonary complications with the use of mTOR inhibitors in targeted cancer therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. , Target Oncol., 9(3): 2014,195-204