1. Dr. Lee, you are a world-renowned surgical
oncologist and a respected member of the medical community. What was your
reason for choosing specialty in breast cancer? Can you please share with us
what keeps you motivated throughout your career?
- On average, during the 1970s and ‘80s in
Korea, there were only about 10 females among 100 students in the medical
school. When I entered medical school in 1980, there were about 25 females
admitted to the school, which was considerably high. However, the number of
female students was still too low compared to males due to the fact that it was
a predominantly male profession. Despite the fact that there was no precedent
for a woman to become a surgeon at that time, I wanted to challenge myself and
pursue a career in medicine. Fortunately, because of my academic performance in
high school, I was able to study in the field of my choice.
I originally hoped to study internal medicine
because I wanted to study the body in a broader spectrum rather than to become
a specialist in a certain field. During my 4th year in internal medicine, I
learned that although internal medicine is a rewarding field, it generally
requires long-term treatments. Instead, I wanted to take a more immediate
approach to help patients. During this time, my senior colleague suggested me
to go into general surgery, and I decided then to divert my career path to
become a surgeon.
Throughout my career, I always strived to be
the best and first in my field, which has led me to become the first female
surgeon from my medical school, the Korea University Medical College. Ever
since I studied at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the U.S. during the
mid-1990s, I’ve focused my skills on improving the areas of breast cancer
research. I always wanted to be a fully dedicated breast cancer specialist who
always prioritizes patient care, and I am fortunate enough to be recognized as
one of the best in my field. When it comes to patient care, I try to allow my
patients to feel comfortable as if they are casually conversing with their
friends or family. Creating a friendly environment for patients is an important
responsibility for physicians. I believe that fundamentals of supporting
patients fight cancer lie not only giving them healthy lifestyle
recommendations but also providing good energy and positivity.
2. As a successful physician with more than 30
years of experience, you may have gone through various obstacles. Can you share
some of the most difficult moments in your career?
- I started at the department of surgery, but
soon I realized how hard it was for a woman to work in this field. Unlike
today, I was the only woman staff in the department, so they did not have a
proper women’s locker room. There were even times when I was being acknowledged
differently from other male colleagues, and occasionally, my competency was
undermined when working along with them. Every day was nerve-racking, and I
cried in the restroom in solitude, but I managed to endure for a year. However,
it was not long before I encountered another obstacle. I wanted to be a
professor, but despite my high GPA and scores, no one dared to hire a female
professor because it was a very rare case to have a female faculty in their
institution.
After thinking long and hard, I decided to
study abroad in the States. This was when my first child was four and my second
was only six months old. Despite my internal conflicts and others’ attempts to
dissuade me, my mind was set on going to the U.S. to continue my studies. As in
any field of medicine, the competition intensifies as you move up in your career,
and there are far more obstacles along the way for a female surgeon. Every time
I faced hardships, I thought of the future of female surgeons. I wanted to pave
the way for them, and such determination helped me to overcome these obstacles.
3. You have become the president of the
National Cancer Center (NCC). What are your principles and philosophies in
leading one of the world’s largest cancer center? How would you distinguish NCC
from other institutions?
- When I gave my inauguration speech, I promised
my colleagues at National Cancer Center (NCC) Korea that I will make positive
changes for our organization, our government, and eventually the global public
health.
The National Cancer Center Hospital recognizes
the importance of prevention and early detection for cancer and provides
specialized cancer check-ups through its Cancer Prevention and Early Detection
Center. Equipped with the state-of-the-art technologies such as colonoscopy,
endoscopy, 64 channel CT, PET/CT and 3T MRI, the cancer specialists at NCC
Hospital strive to satisfy the patients’ various needs through preemptive
strategies.
We also provide quality patient care services
at our modern facilities, using cutting edge equipments such as proton beam
therapy, PET/CT, IMRT, tomotherapy, etc. After six years of preparation, we
have successfully installed a proton beam therapy system in 2007. This
technology radiates a higher dose of beam directly to tumor sites without
causing harm to surrounding normal tissues and organs. The proton radiation
therapy uses x-rays or electron beams to destroy cancer cells, but unlike
X-rays, proton beams release most of their energy when they reach the tumor
cells. The patient does not feel any pain during the therapy, and there are
minimal side effects. Thus, it allows the patient to quickly return to normal,
daily life after treatment compared to those treated with conventional X-rays.
In addition, as a leading center for
developing and disseminating evidence-based, standard cancer-care guidelines,
the NCC Hospital plays a coordinating role in Korea. The NCC Hospital has
established a new system that enables 60 clinical staff from the hospital to
engage in rapid translational research discoveries at the NCC Research
Institute and bring about promising clinical interventions.
At the NCC Hospital, I believe that it does
not take one but our whole staff to bring our hospital to where it is today. I
am truly grateful for the hard work of those who take initiatives toward
innovation. Our employees are dedicated to prepare for the future with a
youthful spirit, constantly learning and facing challenges without fear of
failure. We will open new roads in scientific innovation through our continuing
collaborative efforts. We still have more to accomplish along the road, but I
am confident that the goals of the National Cancer Center will soon be achieved
in the future.
4. You have conducted hundreds of research and
served as an author and coauthor in many research papers. As an eminent opinion
leader, what are some of the major contributions you have made for breast
cancer surgery?
- I am a general surgeon who specializes in
breast cancer and breast reconstruction surgeries. I am currently involved in
500 surgeries every year. I have also written 128 research papers, hold 5
patents and contributed in the technology transfer for one of those patents. I
have been very fortunate to make contributions toward breast cancer surgery in
Korea by implementing breast conserving surgery (BCS) and sentinel lymph node
biopsy that minimize surgical morbidity. In the past, aggressive surgical
treatments were heavily focused on the survival rate of breast cancer patients
without much aesthetic consideration for patients’ self-esteem after their
surgery. However, as a woman, I believe preserving as much healthy tissue is
important for postoperative self-esteem and minimizing the psychological impact
of breast cancer patients. Thus, I focused on the surveillance of lymph node
dissection to minimize the surgical site.
5. Dr. Lee, you are the first surgeon among
the female graduates of the Korea University Medical School, the first female
director in the 60-year history of the Korean Surgical Society, and the first
female president of the National Cancer Center Korea (NCC) since its opening.
Do you have any words of advice to share with other female colleagues?
- To become a good leader, some sacrifices
have to be made in order to enhance the organization. I encourage more women to
take leadership because I believe that women have the ability to understand
individuals’ needs, and direct and harmonize different interests of others.
Leadership should be established at home, and it is important to teach and make
aware of gender equality to our children. There are many women who have inspired
me to become who I am today in many different aspects. I am greatly thankful
for my mother-in-law, who helped me in child-raising and supporting my family
while I was working towards my career.
I am also inspired by Dr. Monica Morrow, who
is a breast cancer surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Moreover,
I admire all the artists in the areas of literature and arts who constantly
challenge the social norms. We must educate our children and ourselves to set
goals in moving forward when faced with challenges and never let societal
standards ruin our passion for success.
I want to tell my female colleagues that they
should never give up on their dreams even if the challenges facing them may
seem unfair right now. If they continue to make efforts and take incremental
steps toward achieving their dreams, a moment of opportunity will come someday.
I do not want to force my female colleagues to follow my path or try to imitate
what I have done so far. Instead, I suggest that they walk shoulder-to-shoulder,
and I offer to be right beside them when they need me.
6. What are some of the major issues or trends
happening in the field? Under your leadership, what is the NCC doing to address
these issues and how will this impact the future of public health in Korea?
- The National Cancer Center is currently
focused on the impact of big data on public health. We are currently working to
establish an open platform where we can share and route cancer-related big
data. The application of this big data will allow us to accurately examine
patients and will eventually reduce medical expenses.
In addition, sharing this big data with other
medical institutions will create an efficient network and a hub for connecting
the three essential elements for scientific progress: research, treatment and
policies. In recent years, I have been conducting research through big data
analysis that will establish a basis for national policies. Such policies will
grant patients with a life-long plan for cancer prevention, screening, and
treatment as well as cancer survivor management.
We will ensure that our center becomes a
testing site for new treatment technologies. We have research resources such as
the NCC Biobank, the Animal Sciences Branch, the Omics Core Lab, and the GMP pharmaceutical
laboratories that are accessible to any researchers.
At NCC, we recently completed our own data
warehouse and search portal for clinical research in order to systematically
combine and manage data. Currently, we have 490,000 patient information in our
database that has been categorized. Although the access to data from other
institutions is prohibited due to privacy-related issues, the National Assembly
is currently in discussion for an amendment to the Cancer Control Act. If this
amendment passes, the big data will be available to be shared among different
institutions, and I believe it will significantly enhance public health and
cancer research in Korea.
7 WKMJ has readers from over 10 countries
globally. Please share your final words with our readers.
- If there are those who are currently
struggling in difficult environments, I hope that my story would reassure them
in their endeavors. I strongly believe that perseverance and positive attitude
will eventually win the day, and that those small battles of each day will
eventually make a difference in the world.
Also, for medical professionals, I would like
to emphasize the importance of relationships. It is important for both the
patients and their families to remain strong during treatment. Therefore, I
hope that all medical professionals will strive to support their patients and
their families, not only with medical support, but also with encouragement and
positive attitude so that unbearable illnesses can be endured and overcome with
confidence.
Eun Sook Lee, MD, PhD
President of the Korean National Cancer Center
Dr. Eun Sook Lee has devoted herself to the
diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer for more than 30 years as a surgical
oncologist. She has also performed translational research to provide a
guideline on high quality diagnosis and the selection of the appropriate local
therapy to be used in cancer treatment that varies with the individual Eun Sook
Lee, MD, PhD President of the Korean National Cancer Center cancer type and the
site of involvement. Dr. Lee obtained necessary knowledge and laboratory
experience from her postdoctoral fellowship in MD Anderson Cancer Center in
1994 and as visiting assistant professor in Northwestern University from 1998
to 2000. Dr. Lee returned to Korea in order to concentrate on the treatment of
breast cancer and was Head of the Breast Cancer Center at the National Cancer
Center Korea from 2000 to 2008. In 2017, Dr. Lee became the president of Korean
National Cancer Center. She has published almost hundred clinical and basic
research papers relating development of therapeutics and optimization of
clinical diagnosis.