Breaking Barriers, Making Healthy Choices, and Embracing Survivorship

Breaking Barriers, Making Healthy Choices, and Embracing Survivorship. In this episode Yonni and Heather sit down with Dr. Laurie Kirstein from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who made history as the first female chair of the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. We will talk about breaking glass ceilings, access to quality healthcare, pain management and the impact of smoking on women’s health outcomes.

Dr. Laurie Kirstein is an Attending Breast Surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She attended Downstate Medical School, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein University for residency and Massachusetts General Hospital for Breast Surgery fellowship. Prior to arriving at Memorial Sloan Kettering she was attending surgeon and Breast Fellowship Director at the Rutgers Cancer Center Institute of New Jersey. At Memorial Sloan Kettering she is the Surgical Site Director for their Monmouth, NJ location. She is the current Chair for the American College of Surgeon’s Commission on Cancer. She is the lead for the national quality improvement project Breaking Barriers: overcoming barriers to cancer care across America. Her research interests include surgical decision for breast cancer, postoperative pain management and tobacco cessation for cancer patients.