Following a journey to its completion is at the heart of who Linda Smiley, MD, is. It is the primary reason she chose gynecologic oncology as a specialty. Whether it’s guiding a patient through their cancer journey, training a quarter horse for competition or watching a new foal develop to its fullest potential, its being on and a part of the journey that makes this native Memphian tick.
Outside of her fellowship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, Memphis is the only home Smiley has ever known. After high school, she chose to purse biology at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, a decision that made her the first in her family to go to college. Another first was that she played on the first women’s basketball, volleyball and tennis teams at Christian Brothers University.
Smiley first thought of medicine as a career at the age of six when her father was ill. While she initially thought nursing would be her career, it was in her second year of college that a biology professor gave her the push she needed to decide to become a doctor. After graduating summa cum laude from CBU, she attended medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis. She completed her internship and residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Tennessee, Memphis.
“While in the third year of my residency, I started working with a gynecological oncologist and decided that was what I wanted to do,” said Smiley. “I enjoyed the surgical aspects of the field along with the gynecological portion. Plus the patients were very sweet and delightful. I knew I could make a difference and wanted to be able to be with my patients throughout every step of their cancer journey from diagnosis to treatment and into recovery.”
After completing her fellowship at MD Anderson in 1990, Smiley returned to her hometown to join her mentor, Guy Photopulos, MD, in practice at UT-Memphis. In 1995, she joined the West Clinic. As a gynecologic oncologist, Smiley treats cervical, ovarian, vulvar and uterine cancers. Additionally, she sees women with pre-invasive diseases, such as vulvar dysplasia, and non-malignant diseases that require surgery like severe endometriosis.
“We are a unique specialty, in that we not only operate but also administer chemotherapy treatments when needed and then provide for all the follow-up with our patients,” she said. “We try to do it all for our patients and follow them throughout the entire process of diagnosis, treatment and recovery.”
Today Smiley sees patients in the clinic’s main office in Memphis as well as in satellite offices in Southaven, Mississippi and Jackson, Tennessee. “We have a large population of patients from West Tennessee,” she said. “So opening an office in Jackson gave patients the opportunity to be seen without having to make the drive to Memphis. It has been a help to our patients since it helps to make access to care easier for them. Right now I only see patients in the clinic in Jackson, all surgical cases are done in Memphis.”
While the majority of her patients come as referrals from other physicians, Smiley says she sees a combination of patients and finds herself busier now than she was 20 years ago. “I think physicians are more apt to refer patients than before and that we see a fairly different mix of patients as well,” she said. “It could be a mass that a physician is concerned may be malignant to an actual cancer patient to someone who has a difficult endometriosis case or a medically ill patient that we need to determine if they are a surgical candidate or not. Sometimes it is just someone in search of another opinion and we do that too. Even if a physician just wants to call me, we try to be very open to them because we are here to help in any way we can.”
Although highly dedicated to her patients, there is another special group who, in addition to her daughter and granddaughter, also receive the attention and care of Smiley – her quarter horses. Not only does she raise them, she also shows them competitively. A member of the American Quarter horse Association, her horses have strutted their stuff in shows in Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida.
“When I was eleven or twelve, I went to a horse camp with the Girl Scouts and knew that I wanted one. While we could not afford them then, I knew one day I would,” said Smiley. “I have a 40 acre place outside of Memphis where I have around ten to twelve horses with several foals on the way. On the farm I have yearlings up to two-year olds, brood mares and some retired horses. I have only been raising foals for around four to five years, but have started riding the first one I raised, Jack, who is four and is beginning his show career this year. The show horses are housed in Jackson, Mississippi and include Carter, a Palomino quarter horse that competes at the Palomino World Show in Tunica, Mississippi.”
Smiley sees having a hobby crucial to those with a career in medicine. “With our patients, it can get very intense. You get to know them and their families very well,” she said. “You see them frequently, once a month or more. You get very close to them and know stuff besides their medical issues. They want to tell you what is going on in their lives and the special times in their lives. We try to schedule their treatments and such around those. Having that close relationship with my patients is really one of the things I enjoy the most about my job.”
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