Dr. Travis Mendel

About Travis Mendel

Dr. Mendel is the Medical Director of Radiation Oncology services at Rio Grande Cancer Specialists, adept in treating all cancer types with a customized and collaborative approach. He first discovered an interest in the medical field during his undergraduate coursework at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. Initially set to study math, Dr. Mendel took a biology class with a professor who piqued his interest in science and set him on the path to pursue medicine. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, he returned home to El Paso to pursue his Doctorate of Medicine at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Science Center. Following the completion of his degree in 2015, he went on to do a transitional year internship at Tucson Hospital Medical Education Program in Arizona before returning to Texas for his residency at UT Southwestern. Each step has brought Dr. Mendel closer to his career goal—to bring the highest level of compassionate health care in radiation oncology to patients in his hometown of El Paso. “When I interviewed for the residency position at UT Southwestern, the department chair asked me where I saw myself in 10 years. I told him I wanted to return to El Paso and be a leader in the oncologic community. I felt this program would challenge me and provide me with the skills to accomplish this goal.” Dr. Mendel is highly passionate about elevating the level of quality care provided to the people of the city in which he was raised. “El Paso is a great community with amazing people and a wonderful place to live, being able to serve such a diverse community with health care services is important to me.” The collegial environment at the Rio Grande group, with his knowledge and experience from UT Southwestern, helps him meet his goal to keep radiation oncology services in El Paso on the cutting edge of both technological and treatment advances. “I’m hoping to bring back some of these novel treatment techniques to provide modern, effective, and efficient treatment options for patients in the community.”