de-stress . Then on the weekends , I ’ ll hop on one of them and tool around a little bit .”
While most Louisvillians have many stories related to horse racing , that couldn ’ t be further from what Dr . Das does , which is English riding . “ I do what they call the hunters , and it ’ s jumping fences about 3-feet high . In Louisville when I came here , the hunter market was not that vibrant . It has grown in the past few years and there ’ s a lot of activity at the horse park and I get to go occasionally .”
Her time with the horses is what allows her to decompress from some of the more demanding parts of medicine . “ I think because I see people all day that are very sick with complicated cases , it ’ s sometimes a little stifling because you ’ re overwhelmed with the amount of illness that you see . With the horses , they ’ re just free , uncomplicated , and I can share moments with them . They are just a different part of nature . They ’ re vibrant , they ’ re happy , it ’ s uplifting ,” she said . “ It ’ s just total relaxation for me because I ’ ve bred most of these horses . I was there when they were born , so they know me very well . I can pet them and talk to them , and they ’ ll come nuzzle you and hang out , there ’ s no questions asked . They have no demands other than maybe a kick here and there to say , ‘ go get me some hay or an apple .’ They ’ re uncomplicated and beautiful and vibrant , and they replenish me when I ’ m a little battery low .”
Her top priority over the next few years is to support her son through college ( and maybe medical school ) in any way she can . But within medicine , she looks forward to the challenge of seeing how her practice , the city of Louisville and Kentucky and beyond can continue offering the best cardio-oncology care possible . Whatever
role she plays in that , she hopes to do it well , she said . She also said it ’ s an honor to get to help this vulnerable population of patients who have continually shown their determination and dedication to their health .
“ The people we see are those who have gone through cancer therapy and have already decided they ’ re going to fight their tumor , that they ’ re going to fight cancer , and that they want to live . So they ’ re very , very motivated and it ’ s very humbling when you know people are faced with that choice . I got a taste of that already with my cancer , and I know how scary that is . So to see these folks and to see them deal with it makes you realize how important the work we do really is .”
Kathryn Vance is the Communications and Event Coordinator at the Greater Louisville Medical Society .
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