Cancer Care Chaplains

Taqwa Surapati, GCIC
Cancer Care Chaplain - Palo Alto

Taqwa completed her chaplain residency at Stanford Health Care, before going to Hartford Seminary in Connecticut for a Graduate Certification in Islamic Chaplaincy in 2014. Prior to that, Taqwa served for a decade as a Spiritual Care volunteer at Stanford and other local hospitals in the San Jose area. Currently finishing her Master of Art in Islamic Studies from Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Taqwa’s interests include oncology chaplaincy, how people of faith think of end-of-life situations and advance health care planning. Taqwa came to the US in 1998 from Jakarta, Indonesia. 

Anna Nikitina
Cancer Care Chaplain - South Bay

Anna came to Stanford with years of experience working with patients with cancer. She was born in Russia where she majored in Civil Law (Legal Studies). She obtained a Master of Divinity degree at Torch Trinity Graduate School of Theology. After immigrating to United States, Anna worked as physical therapist aide in an outpatient rehabilitation center. Anna completed a Clinical Pastoral Education program at St. Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco. She came to serve the Cancer Center South Bay after six years as a staff chaplain at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California. Anna is a Board Certified Chaplain by the Association of Professional Chaplains. She is a member of the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology and Religion. Anna works primarily with the Palliative Medicine team. Her professional interests include researching the subject of resilience and providing support to caregivers.