Georgetown associate professor and surgeon
Dr. Shawna Willey has dedicated her career to promoting breast health, and her work hasn't gone unnoticed.
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Willey will receive two awards for her contributions to fighting the disease -- one from Living in Pink and the other from the African Women's Cancer Awareness Association (AWCAA).
"There's something gratifying about being recognized in this way after years of hard work," says Willey, a member of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center's breast cancer team.
After a decades-long career as a surgeon, Willey says the opportunity to develop an expertise in breast health seemed to come looking for her.
When she opened her practice in the Washington area during the late 1980s, very few fully trained female general surgeons existed. "I didn't set out to specialize in breast cancer surgery," she says. "But when I first opened my practice I noticed women wanted to see a woman to help them with their breast issues."
Nearly 20 years later, Willey has spent the better part of her career saving lives from the disease. More than 40,000 women and men have died from breast cancer this year alone, and new cases total more than 194,000 this year in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute.
On Oct. 23, Living in Pink will honor Willey alongside health care advocate and author Elizabeth Edwards. Living in Pink, whose mission is to help find a cure so generations won't have to endure the emotional and physical pain of breast cancer surgery, raises money for further research.
As division chief for breast surgery at Georgetown University Hospital and director of the hospital's Betty Lou Ourisman Breast Health Center, Willey says surgery currently is the most successful treatment for the disease. But one thing she teaches her third- and fourth-year medical school students on clinical rotations is the importance of building a sense of community, which she says also contributes to the care of patients suffering from the disease.
Once diagnosed, breast cancer patients may undergo surgery, followed by various forms of therapy. Even if treatment is successful patients follow-up visits may continue for years to ensure the cancer does not return.
"I have patients that I see now who I first saw as a surgical resident," says the associate professor of surgery. "The treatment never really ends."
In addition to her clinical research and her work at the office and operating room, Willey also focuses on international health. She's conducted programs and lectures in nations ranging from Poland to Saudi Arabia.
This past summer, she traveled on a medical mission to the state of Anambra in southeastern Nigeria. There, she helped educate women about breast cancer, screened for the disease and performed operations.
For that work and more, the African Women's Cancer Awareness Association will give Willey the Friend of Africa Award on Oct. 30.
Ify Nwabukwu, a retired registered nurse and founder of AWCAA, says Willey gave her all to treat the patients she came in contact with in Nigeria. “She took time away from her own work to perform biopsies and surgery free of charge,” says Nwabukwu. “She was empathetic to the people while she was there, and she still keeps in touch with the patients she saw.”
Nwabukwu's nonprofit coalition of African immigrant women in health professions addresses disparities in awareness, prevention and access to health care for African immigrant communities and those in the D.C. area.
“Cancer really is no respecter of position, where you’re from or the person that you are,” Willey says. But she contends that building a sense of community that includes health professionals and even breast cancer survivors as mentors can aid in the process of healing and awareness.
