- My name is Shana Showalter, and I am a breast surgical oncologist at the breast care center at the University of Virginia. I became a doctor mainly because I-- as cliche as it sounds-- I really did want to be able to help people. I loved science, and so I thought that was a good continuation. My dad was actually a cardiac surgeon. And so growing up with somebody that absolutely loved their job was extremely motivating for me as well. 

The hardest part for patients is that first visit because it's extremely overwhelming to have a new diagnosis of breast cancer. So I try to break the process down for them in sort of a stepwise process rather than getting overwhelmed by the entire treatment plan. So I-- you know, I typically give a broad overview of what the next several months will be and then have them focus just on the next several steps so that they have small goals. 

And that way they, you know, they feel as if each week goes by that they accomplish something towards finishing their treatment. And luckily breast cancer is typically a very curable disease, and patients tend to do very well. So we try to focus on the positive. 

We work with a great team of breast surgeons, specialists in terms of medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, and pathology. And then we have a great group of nurse practitioners, nurses, a wonderful geneticist. Our team as a whole is just so highly specialized that we really are able to provide patients with the highest level of care. We're all here and thinking hard and trying to do the best thing for each of our patients.