AMY SHAW, MD
Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa, Breast Care Center

Dr. Shaw is a family practitioner whose patients led the way to her activism.

"As a family doctor and a woman doctor, I was seeing a lot of women with breast cancer, but ... I had very little knowledge of what my patients were going through. As a family doctor, I saw my role as diagnosing breast cancer and then referring my patients to a specialist. But that changed when I started to recognize the problem from their perspective."

Amy's change in perspective sent her searching for answers about where patients could get the best care, what kind of care a patient should have, and what a patient could expect from treatment. She also wanted to know what could be done to improve the experience for the patient in her own community. She discovered that no one really had the answers. Her real turning point came when one of her patients, whom she'd referred out for treatment came back to tell her that the UCSF Comprehensive Breast Care Center had provided comprehensive treatment in a supportive environment. She'd come back invigorated, involved and informed.

Dr. Shaw then set out to recreate that ideal environment in Sonoma County by eliciting the help of breast cancer survivors and community activists. Her first role became that of community spokesperson, which leads naturally to her role as the catalyst for activist and advocates to push for change. Change materialized in the formation of the Breast Care Center in Sonoma County. As her colleagues said in nominating her, "Dr. Shaw is best characterized by her passion for social consciousness, her patient centered kindness, advocacy and her ethical use of power."