Surgeon from Senegal Visits Fayetteville to Learn About Multidisciplinary Approach to Breast Care
The National Consortium of Breast Centers is sponsoring an international fellow at The Breast Center, a MANA clinic, on March 2, 2015 through March 13, 2015. Dr. Sidy Ka, a surgical oncologist from Senegal, Africa, will be spending approximately two weeks in Northwest Arkansas.
Ka was chosen from 26 international applicants. The National Consortium of Breast Centers (NCoBC) is an organization dedicated to excellence in breast health care through the multidisciplinary approach. The goal of the fellowship is to expose the visiting physician to modern breast care delivery in the U.S. and to demonstrate the value of the team or multidisciplinary approach. After his fellowship in Fayetteville, he will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the NCoBC meeting and report to the General Assembly regarding his experience in Fayetteville.
Ka is one of four surgical oncologist in Senegal, a country with a population of 4 million. He teaches at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop and has a private oncology practice in Dakar. As in many developing nations around the world, breast cancer screening is not common or accessible; and therefore, breast cancer is often diagnosed in later stages that require surgery. Women travel from all over the Senegal and neighboring countries to be treated by Dr. Ka.
“How the breast care specialists work together in Northwest Arkansas is very different from my country,” explains Dr. Ka. “I have learned that communicating and working together leads to better care and outcomes.”
Dr. Kevin Pope, a breast radiologist at The Breast Center explains, “I believe we are all proud of the team that has come together over the years. I am convinced that patients benefit greatly from this team approach.“
The breast imaging doctors at The Breast Center are part of a multidisciplinary team of physicians who have been working together to provide high quality breast care in Northwest Arkansas for over 10 years. The physicians meet early before clinic once a week for Breast Cancer Conference at Washington Regional Medical Center to discuss individual patient cases, their progress and the best course of treatment. Dr. Ka will be spending time with each specialty and following them in clinic and surgeries. The multidisciplinary team includes breast surgeons, plastic surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and pathologists.