Dr. Emily Palmquist, MD

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Get to know General Surgeon Dr. Emily Palmquist, who serves patients in Seattle, Washington.

Dr. Palmquist is a general surgeon specializing in breast surgical oncology. A part of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, she sees patients at the South Lake Union Clinic, UW Medical Center – Montlake, and UW Medical Center – Northwest.

“While we are seeing better treatment outcomes in breast cancer over time, we are also continuing to make sure patients’ self-reported cosmetic and emotional outcomes are improving. We want to provide not only the best cancer care, but also the best patient experience, and to do that, we need to get feedback from patients. They lived with this. We want to make the process the best for them and take everything they experienced into consideration” stated Dr. Palmquist. 

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center unites comprehensive care and advanced research to provide the latest cancer treatment options and accelerate discoveries that prevent, treat, and defeat cancer and infectious diseases worldwide.

An independent, nonprofit organization, Fred Hutch also serves as UW Medicine’s cancer program. This relationship allows for enhanced care coordination with one of the world’s leading integrated health systems.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers and a lot of literature and data helps to formulate treatment plans. Dr. Palmquest wants to help patients be well informed so that they can make the best decisions for themselves.

“Patients have so many ways they can get information. I think our job as surgeons and physicians is to help patients have the right information so they can make good decisions. I want us to think about things as a team. I’m not here to tell patients what to do. It’s my job, with my training and experience, to help them digest what is going on and navigate the process in the best way for them” she said.

The doctor’s acclaimed career in medicine began after she earned her undergraduate degree from Boston College and her medical degree from the Tufts University School of Medicine. She then went on to perform her residency in general surgery at Tufts Medical Center, and her fellowship in breast surgical oncology at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

“I was a resident in general surgery, where I saw people with a variety of conditions, and I was very drawn to breast cancer patients. Breast cancer is incredibly common, and yet patients do very well overall. I really enjoy forming relationships with patients and being able to help them navigate through a stressful and scary time in their lives. It has been very rewarding” expressed Dr. Palmquist.

Board-certified in general surgery, she is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery (ABS). The ABS is an independent, non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training, and knowledge.

Teaching medical students, Dr. Palmquest serves as an Associate Professor within the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland. A general surgeon performs a wide range of abdominal surgeries for many forms of intestinal and abdominal wall neoplasms, gallbladder disease, gastric and pancreatic disease. They follow the patient through critical care and surgical recovery all the way to outpatient care. 

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