Courtesy of Dr. Wendy Wilcox
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | OCT. 9-OCT. 15, 2020 3
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
When it comes to breast
cancer in New York City, there
are still disparities in care
for communities of color. Dr.
Wendy Wilcox, board-certified
Obstetrician Gynecologist and
the Clinical System Lead for
Women’s Health, as well as
Chairperson of Obstetrics and
Gynecology for NYC Health +
Hospitals/Kings County, has
practiced obstetrics, gynecology
and women’s health with
a focus on achieving health equity
and eliminating disparities
across populations throughout
her career.
After earning a BA in Biomedical
Ethics from Brown
University, Dr. Wilcox attended
SUNY Upstate Medical Center
and completed her residency at
Long Island College Hospital in
Brooklyn.
“There were women’s care
counselors that were placed in
the dorms to help students get
to the right resources in case
of date rape, or to help inform
about public health topics like
STIs, how to stay healthy, or how
to identify eating disorders. I became
intrigued, not thinking
that this would inform what I do
later,” said Dr. Wilcox. “In that
rotation, I learned that liked
talking to my patients - you talk
to the parents. I really enjoyed a
lot of teaching and informing.
As I was moving over to women’s
health, it’s such a wide-open
field - it just drew me in.”
Dr. Wilcox became an attending
at Montefiore Medical
Center, which led to her being
director of her medical group
and Assistant Professor in Ob-
Gyn at the Albert Einstein College
of Medicine. Recently, Dr.
Wilcox was named Co-chair for
Governor Cuomo’s Taskforce
on Maternal Mortality and Disparate
Racial Outcomes, which
recommended the newly formed
New York State Maternal Mortality
Review Committee.
In her experience, Dr. Wilcox
notices that those who are coming
for their annual check-ups
and mammographies are generally
already engaged in their
health and tend to follow the
recommended practices. The
problem comes with those who
aren’t seeking treatment, particularly
those who are African
American or are of African descent,
who are at a higher risk of
dying from breast cancer.
“There is still a mistrust
of the medical community for
valid reasons,” said Dr. Wilcox.
“Historically we can look back
and see many many examples
of how African Americans and
immigrants sometimes have
been the victims of some really
horrific medical experiments.
African American women are
much more likely to die of breast
cancer than Caucasian women
because they are generally diagnosed
at a later stage, and are
more likely to have triple negative
breast cancer. The gap is
widening where there was a disparity
before.”
Triple negative breast cancer,
which shows no estrogen
receptors, progesterone receptors,
and excess HER2 protein
accounts for 10-15% of breast
cancer and has a low survival
rate. It is common for African
American women under the age
of 40, or women with the BRCA1
mutation.
Multiple health organizations
recommend that women
start getting regular mammograms
at the age of
40. In Dr. Wilcox’s
experience, she
finds that many women
aren’t getting their
mammograms because
they think
the procedure
is more
painful
than it
actually
is.
Whi le
in the age
of COVID-
19, Dr. Wilcox
notes that her practice, as well
as others throughout the city,
are taking precautions to make
sure a doctor’s visit is safe for
patients.
While there are some genetic
factors that can lead to the
development of breast cancer,
Dr. Wilcox says that maintaining
your overall health can help
reduce your risk factors for developing
breast cancer. Certain
things like quitting smoking
and managing your weight can
be beneficial, as well as staying
away from processed foods can
help reduce the risk for women
at any age,
w h i l e
women of
reproductive
age can breastfeed
to reduce their
risk.
“The healthier
one is in general,
then the healthier
one will be when
looking at certain
diseases,”
said Dr. Wilcox.
“Eating
healthy, eating
correct
amounts of fruits
and vegetables, exercising,
trying to avoid refine
and processed foods and sugars,
reducing alcohol intake. There
are some changes that happen
during menopause — many gain
weight and experience insomnia
We may not be as concerned
about our nutritional intake,
the older one gets the higher the
chances of one having breast
cancer is a lifetime risk, and
it increases in menopause. Being
thoughtful of maintaining
overall health is good for your
breasts.”
Dr. Wendy Wilcox works to end disparities
in breast cancer diagnoses and care
/QNS.COM
