About Vanessa L. Prowler, MD
Dr. Vanessa Prowler is a fellowship-trained Breast Surgeon at our Hollis Cancer Center. She specializes in the treatment of benign and malignant breast diseases and is a Trained Clinician in Cancer Risk Assessment. Her clinical focus includes high-risk breast patients and surgical techniques called “oncoplasty.”
Oncoplastic Surgery: A scar is what a patient sees every time they look in the mirror, reminding them of their cancer diagnosis. Dr. Prowler’s goal is to remove the breast cancer and make it look as though the patient never had breast surgery. This involves limiting incisions to 1 of 3 hidden locations, tissue rearrangement techniques, and in some cases a symmetry procedure on the opposite breast in conjunction with plastic surgery. When the breast looks great, patients have an easier time moving past the diagnosis.
High Risk: Only a small percentage of breast cancers are due to hereditary gene mutations. The remaining 90% are sporadic. Many women who do not have a family history of breast cancer think they are not at risk. There are many components that make up an individual’s risk of developing breast cancer, including a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, hereditary gene mutations, and the lifetime exposure to estrogen that can affect the propensity to develop a cancer. At Hollis Cancer Center, we can perform genetic testing right in our office.
What is your patient care philosophy?
I aim to provide patients with the knowledge about their disease process so that they may better understand and proactively take charge of the ailment that faces them.
What does it mean to Specialize in Cancer Genetics?
I am a Trained Clinician in Cancer Risk Assessment and recognized as a genetics provider by Cigna, the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers and most genetics companies.
I went through a 4-month intensive cancer genetics course through the City of Hope Genetics program.
This training allows me to use genetics and genomics in my cancer risk assessment, management and prevention practice for breast cancer care, including imaging, chemopreventive and surgical interventions. It also allows me to conduct evidence-based cancer risk counseling and testing.
I am currently the only Breast Cancer Surgeon in the area trained in this specialty.
What would you like people to know about you as a physician?
I truly love what I do and strive to treat every patient as though they are part of my family.
Why did you decide to become a physician?
My little sister was born severe-to-profoundly deaf in 1984. At that time, hospitals did not require newborn hearing screenings prior to discharge. A physician would discover that she was deaf later that year, and we spent years “catching up,” learning sign language to communicate, taking her to speech therapy, and mainstreaming her in school. The struggles she experienced and curiosity about her hearing deficit had a profound impact and made me want to heal people.
What do you enjoy most about working with patients?
I enjoy educating patients on their breast disease, empowering them to makes strides to decrease their risk of developing breast cancer, and for those with cancer, helping them understand or overcome a difficult diagnosis.
When did you know you wanted to be a doctor?
Childhood (as far back as I can remember).
How does your work improve lives?
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. I am fortunate to have completed the necessary training to put me on the front lines of this fight. I partner with each patient to help them through the journey of their cancer diagnosis, treatment and finally survivorship.
What else would you like to share with patients and families?
It is important to know that Breast Cancer is a curable disease when caught early. Thanks to screening mammograms, we have the capability to detect breast cancer before it becomes invasive. When patients present late in the disease process, there are less treatment options available to them. When someone is diagnosed at Stage 4, treatment becomes more about making sure the patient is comfortable and less about finding ways to battle the disease.
What are some interesting facts about you?
I was born in Kealakekua, located on the big Island of Hawaii, and grew up in Southern California. I moved to Florida in 1994.
With what community and volunteer organizations are you involved?
I have spoken at several local Breast Cancer Awareness Month events, and I participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in New York City prior to moving back to Florida.
I am a member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, Society of Surgical Oncology, American College of Surgeons, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Tell us about your family.
I have been married to my husband for 14 years and we have a German shepherd. I love working out, going out to eat, and enjoying the beautiful warm weather in Florida.
What childhood memory do you have about visiting the doctor?
I always loved going to the doctor. They were like detectives, gathering information about the patient in their history, performing the physical exam that often provided clues to the disease process, and prescribing a treatment that (often) fixed the ailment.
