As a 26-year-old general surgical resident, Jennifer DiCocco, MD, had been well trained on the surgical options used to treat breast cancer. As a woman, she felt she could also bring a female perspective to the disease. What she was not prepared for was to be the patient herself. Today, DiCocco is bringing her experience as a patient and her surgical skills to patients where she is spearheading an effort to establish a Breast Cancer Center of Excellence at Baptist Hospital Union City.
At the ripe old age of 10, Dicocco, who hails from Dayton, Ohio, broke her arm in gymnastics. When she woke from surgery she started telling folks she was going to be a surgeon. A sentiment that was reinforced several more times thanks to accidents endured from gymnastics that caused her to have more surgeries. “I loved that idea of going in, fixing the problem and making the person better,” said DiCocco. “I think that is especially true in surgery versus other medical specialties where you are dealing with more chronic illnesses.”
After graduating in molecular genetics from Ohio State, DiCocco chose the University of Cincinnati for medical school. Her residency in general surgery was completed through the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences in Memphis where she rotated through multiple hospitals including The MED (now Regional One Health), LeBonheur, Methodist, Baptist, St. Francis and the VA facility. DiCocco chose a seven-year residency that included five years of surgery and two of research.
In 2008, while in the third year of her residency, DiCocco felt a mass in her breast. Initially she chalked it up to being nothing because she was only 26 years old and thought she would just watch it for awhile. When the mass did not go away, her medical side prevailed and she sought the advice of one of the doctors she worked under.
“She was a female surgeon who did mostly breast surgery. I told her I was concerned and she examined me. Within 48 hours I had a mammogram, an ultrasound then a biopsy. Twenty-four hours later the results were back and I was told I had breast cancer. Ironically, I was diagnosed on October first, which is the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said DiCocco. “Based on the size of the cancer my options were a lumpectomy and radiation or mastectomy. I opted for a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction.”
Since she was in the research portion of her residency at the time of her diagnosis, DiCocco had the flexibility in her schedule needed to accommodate surgery and chemotherapy without having to put her residency on hold. “I had my initial surgery in October. Started chemotherapy in November and finished in April,” said DiCocco. “My reconstruction surgery was immediately after I completed chemo because I had already had expanders put in at the time of my mastectomy. A couple of years later I had them redone by Dr. Laura Cooper, a plastic surgeon from Memphis.”
DiCocco met her husband right after completing chemotherapy. “I had practically no hair, just peach fuzz,” she said. “Eleven months later we were married and I was a mom to my step daughter. While I was still in residency in October 2012, we had another daughter. Our next one came in 2014 right after moving to Union City.”
“Initially I thought I would do trauma surgery and did an additional two years of research in trauma as a part of my residency,” said DiCocco. “While I was doing my rural surgery rotation in Union City, I worked with Dr. Thomas Jernigan, III. I saw him having the time to not only be a devoted surgeon but a father as well. Balancing my career and a family was important to me so I chose to stay with general surgery. When I finished my residency in June 2013, I joined the Jernigan Surgery Clinic in Union City which was a very welcome change from life in the big city.”
Managing a practice with a family is important to the mom of three girls, who range in age from eight years to nine months old. “Being in a smaller town means things are just not as crazy for me. I take call every third night and it is a lot easier to be at home with the girls and be at their activities,” said DiCocco. “My husband is also a huge help and is a great father. When I was in residency and had our daughter who is now two, he stayed home with her for practically the whole first year. Now he is the office manager at the clinic which gives him a great deal of flexibility in his schedule.”
Being a cancer survivor and cancer free for the past six years has brought a new perspective to DiCocco’s practice. “There are things you never realize until you have been through it yourself,” she said. “Had I not gone through it I would not know the challenges breast cancer patients face, many of which affect how you go through your daily activities. I went through chemotherapy as a young woman, which is a very unique experience. I can relate to patients better since I truly know what they are going to go through.”
DiCocco takes the treatment of breast cancer not only personally but wants to make sure that patients in Union City receive the highest quality of care. To this end, she has made it a goal to have the Breast Cancer program at Baptist Memorial Hospital – Union City designated as a Center of Excellence. “It is a process that will take several years but we are submitting data and have all the components needed to receive this prestigious designation,” said DiCocco. “We have to have two years of data that has been reported in six month increments. It will be at least a full year before we can have the designation but we are definitely working toward that goal.”
Print
