20 Lives, 20 Ways: Dr. Francisco Espinel

In honor of our 20th Anniversary year, WAR is profiling 20 individuals whose lives have been touched by some aspect of the many research, education, and support programs for women at high risk for and with breast cancer we have offered over the past two decades.

4. Dr. Francisco Espinel

Dr. Espinel was the 2009-2010 "Alan & Susan Fuirst Women At Risk Breast Surgery Fellow."

WAR: How did your year as the Women At Risk fellow impact your education in terms of your ability to treat patients with breast cancer effectively?

Spending time with the Women At Risk team really gave me greater insight into the different aspects of breast cancer. And not just coming from the biological and surgical part, but from the personal side. The science behind it you can learn from a book or in the operating room, but the other aspects are the hardest part.

Also, I was really impacted by going and speaking to different groups and being able to educate people about what the newest and latest data were in breast research. It's so important for people to know what we do at Columbia—we’re doing research and clinical research and we’re right there at one of the best breast care programs in the country— it’s important for people to know that.

WAR: During your year as the WAR fellow, did you see patients who were helped by WAR's services and/or support? Honestly, everybody was helped. After a patient was diagnosed they would immediately see Nancy [the patient navigator], who would speak to them and guide them, and then they would go to the library where they could just sit and talk, even if they didn't feel like reading all of the pamphlets. For a patient, you just know that when the world’s crashing down, there’s an option—they can talk to someone who truly knows what they're going through—a survivor.

WAR: What was the most meaningful experience or event you took part in?

For me, personally, it was when I was asked to speak at the home of a donor on the Upper West Side because at that event, I spoke in front of Dr. Sheldon Feldman and Dr. Mahmoud El-Tamer, my mentors, so it was a big deal for me.

Also, when I got to speak at Rye Country Day School for the GOPiNK girls. That was awesome—to speak to high school students and feel so welcome and have them ask some of the most intelligent questions I’ve ever been asked. Allie and Erica [the founders of GOPiNK] were just so great.

WAR:

What do you think makes Women At Risk unique as an organization?

I think the one big thing is the library that is staffed by volunteers who are also breast cancer survivors. That is really unique because many times you’ll have an area where women can browse information on their own, but here, there’s someone there to guide them and help them look for information that they need, and it’s a very open environment, which is good.

They’re all survivors and that’s what’s really different—it’s not just a secretary or a nurse saying, "Here's a pamphlet on mastectomy." They’ve actually been through it.

In general, Women At Risk is a great model because it really brings everyone together in terms of lay people and clinicians to further the support of women at risk and women with breast cancer.