Sansum Clinic, now part of Sutter Health, will host a talk by Dr. Nathalie McDowell Johnson titled Breasts and the Surgeon: From Antiquity to Infinity, 5:30 p.m. March 7 at Ridley-Tree Cancer Center’s Wolf Education & Training Center, 529 W. Junipero St., Santa Barbara.
Reservations are required, and requested by March 1. Contact Danielle Cassidy dcassidy@sansumclinic.org or call 805-681-7528.
Dr. Johnson is Sansum Clinic’s visiting professor of surgery. She is the medical director of the Legacy Health Systems Cancer Institute and the Legacy Breast Health centers in Portland, Oregon.
Dr. Johnson’s talk will focus on the history and evolution of breast cancer treatment and the surgeon.
“This topic is fascinating, and the story is richly woven into today’s care,” she said. “I will explore the past to understand how these threads will color the future art of breast oncologic care.”
A native of the island of St. Thomas, Dr. Johnson began her professional life as a dancer with the Ballet Theatre of the Virgin Islands and with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City.
When her career focus turned toward medicine, she enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in radiation therapy technology. She received her physician training at the Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University) and completed her residency and surgical internship at Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California.
Dr. Johnson has served as the commissioner of health for the U.S. Virgin Islands. She was recruited to Oregon to develop Legacy Health-Good Samaritan’s breast health centers and to advance the care of cancer patients.
She is the past president of the American Society of Breast Surgeons and currently serves on its Board of Directors.
Besides her clinical practice, Dr. Johnson plays an active role in research projects related to breast cancer.
After being diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer in 2013, Dr. Johnson credits the experience with giving her a deeper understanding of what patients go through during treatment.
“My patient care philosophy is that we are not looking at a disease, but a whole person. We need to remember the holistic approach to care, so we treat the disease but we also think about the bigger picture,” she said.
The Visiting Professor of Surgery Education Program advances the level of surgical care for local surgeons and surgical residents in training at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Support for the program’s endowment fund allows a prominent national surgeon to be in residence in Santa Barbara for one week each year.