LAURA ESSERMAN, MD, MBA
Associate Professor of Surgery and Radiology
Director, Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center, UCSF

Dr. Laura Esserman works diligently to make breast cancer surgery as non-invasive as possible. Her skill as a surgeon is just one of her many attributes. Her focus on breast cancer spans public policy issues and basic science, culminating in the development of state-of-the-art ways to care for and empower patients during their treatment. In simple terms, Dr. Esserman understands the importance of listening to her patients to identify areas where the medical profession can work to improve the treatment experience. That also includes ways to calm a patient as that patient undergoes anesthesia. Dr. Esserman, blessed with a lovely voice, sings to her patients, lowering their blood pressure and sometimes, her own. She says with a shy smile, "I know it's unusual but it's such a simple thing..."

Dr. Esserman's guiding principal in both research and clinical care is that a patient's knowledge, participation, and comfort level are key to ensuring that a patient receives the best possible care. She is committed to helping people through a difficult passage in their lives, "We can't always make a difference in the biology, we can't always affect or alter the course of the disease, but we can always make a difference in the experience that a person has as they go through the treatment." She also believes strongly in the power of community activism to promote breast cancer awareness. "Breast cancer affects the community as a whole. When the community becomes involved they are saying we don't want to accept this loss, because it is too great. It is so important to the health of our society to put the resources together to address this problem of breast cancer."

She is one of those rare individuals who can see the big picture without losing sight of the individual. Her patients say, "Laura is sensitive to the anxiety and fears that breast cancer patients experience. She provides an honest and supportive explanation of your situation." Dr. Esserman plays a crucial role in healing women with breast cancer in the Bay Area.