PHYSICIAN PROFILE
Lucy Wallace , MD
Co-Medical Director of the Breast Cancer Research and Treatment Center
s a breast surgical oncologist and co-medical director of the Breast Cancer Research and Treatment Center at Baylor Scott & White Charles A . Sammons Cancer Center , Lucy Wallace , MD , is a dedicated advocate in the fight against breast cancer .
“ As a surgeon , it has been a privilege to care for countless women diagnosed with breast cancer ; however , this cause is also deeply personal to me ,” said Dr . Wallace . “ Not only am I a granddaughter and daughter of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer , I am also a mother to two young girls , Harper ( 6 ) and Hunter ( 4 ), and I want to do everything I can to help advance this fight for them .”
How does your role as a breast surgeon , who has a family history of this disease , help you relate to patients ?
I can personally identify with patients who are at increased risk for developing breast cancer . I myself have been followed in a high-risk program for years . I share my perspective with patients , which is that knowing you ’ re at increased risk for developing breast cancer can be empowering because there ’ s something you can do about it . You can participate in a high-risk screening program and make lifestyle adjustments to reduce risk . I really try to help patients focus on the positive aspects of knowing their risk , instead of fear .
What research are you involved with that makes you hopeful about the future in the fight against breast cancer ?
We recently launched the Texas Immuno-oncology Biorepository ( TIOB ), which aims to improve our understanding of cancer by collecting biological samples , like blood , urine and tissue , from patients battling breast and other cancers . One aim is to identify biomarkers , or things circulating in the body , that could diagnose cancer earlier . Currently , to diagnose a breast cancer , it has to be large enough to be seen on imaging studies . Through the work of the TIOB , my hope is that we find a way to diagnose breast cancer before it ’ s apparent on mammograms . Another aim is to understand the role the immune system plays in controlling cancer , and through this work , we hope to find novel therapies that one day render my work as a surgeon unnecessary .
What makes Baylor Scott & White a unique place to work ?
Baylor Scott & White is the perfect hybrid between a large academic center and a private practice . There is tremendous infrastructure and support for research , access to clinical trials and the opportunity to impact the next generation of surgeons by teaching the residents and fellows . But the practice setting still allows for a close , personal relationship with my patients and their families . It ’ s a long career to only enjoy operating ; there has to be something more , and for me , it ’ s having a relationship with my patients . At the end of the day , that ’ s what fills my well .
Do you have any hobbies ?
I love working in the yard ; it ’ s a passion that was passed to me by my mother and grandmother . My mother always
“… through this work , we hope to find novel therapies that one day render my work as a surgeon unnecessary .”
– Dr . Wallace worked . She did her gardening on the weekends and I spent a lot of time as a little kid playing alongside her . Now , my girls play alongside me , looking for earthworms and roly-polies . There ’ s something very therapeutic about digging in the dirt , watching things grow and standing outside at the end of the day watering . I hope to foster in them a love of the earth , but also a connection to me , through gardening . When my grandmother died , my mother moved her daylilies to her yard , and my best friend ’ s mother has my grandmother ’ s irises . I ’ ll move these to my yard one day .
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THE COMPASS / BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE FOUNDATION NEWS / WINTER 2020