Rachel D. Aufforth, MD
My specialties:
- Cancer (surgical oncology)
- General surgery
Professional interests:
- Adrenal tumors
- Breast cancer
- Colon cancer
- Gastric cancer
- melanoma
- Rectal cancer
- Soft tissue tumors
- Surgical management of solid tumors
- thyroid cancer
Hometown: Bowbells, North Dakota
What are you passionate about? Providing all patients, from every walk of life, with state-of-the-art cancer and endocrine surgery.
If I wasn't a provider, I would be a photographer with National Geographic.
Why did you become a provider? Because of my love of anatomy, surgical disease and desire to help people.
Something I have learned from my patients is surgery is scary and it is crucial to take an extra moment to reassure them, explain what is happening and listen to their concerns/fears/anxieties.
One of the challenges of this career that I enjoy is cancer surgery because there is constantly new research and data to improve patient outcomes. I love sharing this information with my patients and their loved ones.
What are you most proud of? Spending a year as an Americorp Member building houses with Habitat for Humanity in inner-city Milwaukee after college and before medical school.
My practice philosophy is to treat every patient as if they are family and provide them with outstanding, top-notch cancer and endocrine surgical care.
Credentials
- MD
Board-certified specialties
- General surgery
Specialties
- Cancer (surgical oncology)
Educational institutions
- University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Science - Grand Forks, North Dakota
- Concordia College - Moorhead, Minnesota
Memberships
- American Association of Endocrine Surgeons
- American College of Surgeons - Associate Member
- Society of Surgical Oncology
Residencies
- General Surgery Internship and Residency - St. John's Hospital and Medical Center - Detroit, Michigan
Fellowships
- Endocrine Oncology Surgical Research and Clinical Fellowship - National Cancer Institute - Bethesda, Maryland
- Surgical Oncology Fellowship - University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Major health plans we participate in
- Allina Health | Aetna
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota
- HealthPartners
- Medica
- PreferredOne
- SelectCare/LaborCare
- UCare
- UnitedHealthcare
Other health plans we participate in
- Medicaid/Medicare
- Aetna
- America's PPO
- First Health/Coventry
- CIGNA
- Humana
- Hennepin Health (formerly Metropolitan Health Plan)
- PrimeWest
- South Country Health Alliance
- United Behavioral Health
- Wisconsin Physician Services (WPS)