A Health Hub Q&A with Dr. Megan Baker.
Dr. Megan Baker comes to Mt. Pleasant Breast Specialists after 10 years as medical director of Comprehensive Breast Care at Hollings Cancer Center. She leads a team of experienced nurses and staff who are passionate about women’s health, and who understand the particular concerns and sensitivities related to cancers of the breast. Dr. Baker is a graduate of Columbia University and Wright State University School of Medicine, and did her surgical residency at MUSC with additional training in oncoplastic breast surgery at Case Western Reserve University.
Q: Dr. Baker, we are thrilled that you bring such depth and expertise to the Roper St. Francis community. Tell us a bit about why you chose to become a breast surgeon in particular?
A: I have always enjoyed caring for women’s health and breast care gives me the privileged opportunity to work with women with surgical issues that run the gamut of benign to malignant. On a personal level, breast cancer has affected many women in my life, so it is on their behalf that I have dedicated my career.
Q: What excites you about the future of breast cancer care? Are you optimistic that a cure is on the horizon?
A: I am very optimistic for the future given that so many women with breast cancer already do so well and enjoy a normal life expectancy. I joke with my family that one of my greatest hopes is to be out of a job. Without breast cancer you would not need breast cancer surgeons! But on a serious note, as we learn more about personalized genomic driven cancer care, more and more women will find themselves cancer free. This requires funding for research and participation in clinical trials.
Q: Do you feel you bring anything special to the field as a female surgeon?
A: Every surgeon brings their own personal story to their patient’s care. Mine happens to be one that is similar to those of my patients: I am a busy working mom. I can relate to many of the concerns that my patients share from that perspective.
Q: And finally, what is the one thing you wish every woman knew about her breasts?
A: I would like every woman to understand what her risk for breast cancer is so that she can be screened most appropriately.
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