Q&A: Ashley Stuckey
Breast Cancer Surgery
You’ve wanted to be a doctor since you were a child.
How did you choose this specialty?
I never had any other thoughts that I would do anything
different. I am not only a breast cancer surgeon, I am also
a gynecologic oncologist. I combine both specialties in
taking care of women with cancer. I have always had an
interest in women’s health, and this is a great way to
combine my interest with the intellectual aspect of cancer.
What does your day-to-day look like?
I spend about half of my time taking care of gynecology
patients and half taking care of breast cancer patients. Much
of that is spent operating on these women and seeing them
in the office. It’s unusual for a doctor to do both, as they are
typically separate specialties. It has been great because I am
very interested in female hereditary cancer syndrome. So, I
can take care of my patients and be the one doctor that they
see for their breast cancer or ovarian cancer problems and
minimize the number of physicians they visit.
With breast cancer surgery, women have options.
What are they?
The majority of women can undergo breast conservation,
which means a lumpectomy. This is removing the cancer
with some normal tissue around it. Alternatively, some
women choose or may need additional surgery, which is a
mastectomy. This is removing the entire breast. Breast
cancer care has come a long way; many more women have
the option of breast conservation. Ultimately, this is a good
thing for them.
How many surgeries do you perform each week?
In total, about eight.
What is one thing you want your patients to know?
As the genetic field for hereditary syndromes of women’s
cancers rapidly expands, I always urge patients, medical
students and people I train to be aware of family history.
There are a lot of women who may be at higher risk for
some of these cancers that we are able to test for and,
hopefully, prevent.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I love that I can take care of families. I can take care of moms,
sisters and daughters when they have these genetic hereditary
predispositions to cancer. It is a privilege to care for these
women when they are going through such a vulnerable time.
These are some of the strongest and most amazing women I
have known and it is an inspiration to see them every day.
KEY TO HOSPITAL ABBREVIATIONS
Please note that the hospital affiliations listed with each doctor are a
selection of where they practice and are meant to help you contact them.
BTL Butler Hospital, Providence
FTM Our Lady of Fatima, North Providence
HCH Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Providence
KENT Kent Hospital, Warwick
LAN Landmark Medical Center, Woonsocket
MIR The Miriam Hospital, Providence
NONE No affiliation
NPT Newport Hospital, Newport
RIH Rhode Island Hospital, Providence
RW Roger Williams Medical Center, Providence
SC South County Hospital, South Kingstown
STJ St. Joseph Hospital, Providence
VA VA Medical Center, Providence
WI Women and Infants Hospital, Providence
WST The Westerly Hospital, Westerly
Addiction Medicine
Alex Etienne [RW]
Vincent F. Marcaccio [RW]
Allergy/Immunology
Anthony R. Ricci [KENT]
Robert J. Settipane [NONE]
Russell A. Settipane [SC]
John F. Zwetchkenbaum
[NONE]
Anesthesiology
Timothy Connelly [RW]
Kristopher Russell Davignon
[MIR, RIH]
Calin D. Drimbarean [WI]
Zachary Maxwell Robbins
[MIR, RIH]
Fred A. Rotenberg [MIR, RIH]
Vijayendra Sudheendra [FTM]
Cardiology
Jinnette Abbott [MIR, RIH]
Lloyd Feit [HCH]
Sara Ford [HCH]
Ned Gutman [NPT]
Chester Melvin Hedgepeth III
[KENT]
Heather Marie Hurlburt [KENT]
Alice Kim [KENT]
Thomas Vincent Lanna
[FTM, MIR, RW]
William A. Levin [MIR, RW]
Daniel J. Levine [MIR, RIH]
Philip Stockwell [MIR, RIH]
James W. Ziegler [HCH, SC]
Cardiovascular Disease
James G. Fingleton [RIH]
Critical Care Medicine
Gerardo Pasquale Carino
[MIR, RIH]
Andrew Tobias Levinson
[MIR, RIH]
Katherine Mason [HCH, RIH]
Joseph Vincent Meharg [RW]
Ehsun Raza Mirza [KENT]
Patricia Russo-Magno [KENT, SC]
Margaret Scheffler [HCH, RIH]
Linda K. Snelling [HCH, RIH]
Nicholas Ward [MIR, RIH, WI]
Dermatology
Lionel Bercovitch [HCH, RIH]
Robert K. Dyer [MIR, RIH, SC, VA]
Lynn E. Iler [NONE]
John Kawaoka [RIH]
Abrar Qureshi [RIH]
Leslie Robinson-Bostom [RIH]
Emergency Medicine
Michael J. Bonitati [RW]
Gary Bubly [MIR]
Ilse Jenouri [MIR]
Elizabeth Nestor [RIH]
Endocrinology
Kenneth Chen [WI]
Robert John Dobrzynski Jr.
[MIR, RIH, STJ]
Geetha Gopalakrishnan
[MIR, RIH] >>
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MAY/JUNE 2020 51