Why I Chose Oncology - Dr. Sara Fogarty

Dr. Sara Fogarty was only two years into her surgical residency when breast cancer became personal. First, a 30-year-old friend was diagnosed after her family history prompted a mammogram. The next year, the surgeon who had encouraged Dr. Fogarty to pursue a career in surgery, was diagnosed at 31 with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.

An initial sense she had not learned nearly enough to be of help to her friend gave way to a plan. Dr. Fogarty joined a breast cancer research team at Georgetown University Medical Center and helped lead a new clinical trial. Rapid progress in breast cancer research gave her hope. It still does.

“I try to be optimistic,” she said. “And it’s nice to be in a specialty where so many patients go on to live cancer-free.”

Not all do, of course. That story is personal, too. Fifteen years later, Dr. Fogarty’s friend is now 45 and has been successfully treated for cancer twice. The surgeon, whose case was so advanced before detection, lived five very full years before she died. She completed a master’s degree and got married in that time.

Dr. Sara Fogarty’s optimism remains.

“Things are always getting better for patients,” she said. “I love how we are learning all the time about new treatments.”