Laura Liberman, MD, FACR

Since joining the Memorial Sloan Kettering faculty in 1990, my clinical work has been in the Breast Imaging Service of the Department of Radiology, where I served for several years as director of breast imaging research programs. My research has focused on image-guided breast needle biopsies under stereotactic, ultrasound, and MRI guidance, which provide a less invasive and less expensive alternative to surgery for diagnosing breast lesions. My work has been integral to setting standards for breast needle biopsy technique and follow-up, has expedited treatment for women with breast cancer, and has spared surgery for women with benign breast lesions.

My book, I Signed as the Doctor, details my treatment for malignancy at Memorial Sloan Kettering after having been a doctor here for almost 20 years. This experience resembled being in a play in which you know all the lines but you’re reading the wrong part. I hope that my dual perspective as both a doctor at a cancer center and a cancer survivor will give insight to those coping with cancer and will help physicians be better doctors. With this aim, I actively support Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Integrative Medicine Service, Communication Skills (Comskil) Laboratory, Survivorship Initiative, and Resources for Life After Cancer program.