Surgeon with a special interest in breast health

My work involves seeing lots of women a week with breast problem at one of Bangkok's Cancer specialized hospitals, both of which I head up. I also travel round the country giving talks on breast awareness, and am involved in setting up community-based breast awareness projects.

My biggest personal anxieties due to work are linked to the fact that I diagnose or confirm between 30 and 50 breast cancers a week. I am anxious by nature, as well as being a perfectionist and am well aware that breast cancer knows no boundaries, so I am obsessive about my own breast health. I check myself regularly and had my first mammogram at 35. However, due to my subsequent pregnancies there was a three-year gap after that and I was anxious about not having an annual checkup.
My worst personal moment was finding a lump in my breast while feeding my youngest child who I had at 38. Although the doctor in me knew that the lump was most likely due to breast engorgement, the anxiety of waiting 24 hours to see if it settled was nevertheless huge. I felt the lump on a Sunday and had an extremely stressful waiting time. Thankfully, due to lots of massaging and feeding from that breast, the lump hand settled by Monday, but it was only after getting the all-clear from an ultrasound (the investigation of choice in breastfeeding women) that I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

What I gained from the experience is an acute awareness, as a woman and mother, of the stress my patients go through if they find a breast lump or have a cancer diagnosis. That is why I always make a point of seeing patients within two days of diagnosis to relieve their anxiety as well as to emphasize that time should be taken to speak to other breast cancer survivors and seek second opinions. No breast lump should be taken lightly and, while only one in nine is malignant, every woman has a right to speedy, professional care.