Kara Long Roche, MD, MSc, FACOG

I am a daughter, mother, and wife who has been personally impacted by ovarian cancer. I understand the burden it can place on a woman’s entire life. My experiences not only affirm my career choice but also fuel my determination and passion in the operating room, and guide the way I develop relationships with each of my patients and their families.

At MSK, I am part of a team of surgeons that is clinically and scientifically committed to and passionate about treating ovarian cancer. Because of our streamlined focus and close collaboration, we are able to offer some of the best outcomes in the world for women with this disease. I perform about 250 gynecologic procedures each year, using minimally invasive techniques when appropriate so that women can get back to their lives more quickly after surgery. In addition, I am skilled at performing cytoreductive surgery, which means I remove all visible disease so that the cancer is more susceptible to chemotherapy. For women who want to start or grow their families, I perform fertility-preserving surgical procedures whenever possible.

One of my biggest focuses in and out of the operating room is helping women who are at high risk for developing a gynecologic cancer. I have extensive experience in performing risk-reduction surgery and am currently working with my colleagues to develop new strategies to improve this procedure. I am also researching the development of novel screening and early detection techniques with the goal of reducing the number of women who are impacted by gynecologic cancers.

Women who are diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer often take on a tremendous amount of information, stress, and added responsibility on top of their already busy lives. As their surgeon, I hope my patients feel confident and reassured that they have someone on their side who will help take on some of this burden.

I am running the New York City Marathon as part of Fred’s Team to raise money for cancer research at MSK. If you would like to donate or learn more about Fred’s Team, please visit my page.