Domestic Volunteerism Spotlight: Scott Leckman

In late 2011, F.A., a 33-year-old Hispanic woman was fearful something was terribly wrong when she developed bloody nipple discharge. Lacking any health insurance, she waited for six months. She was initially seen at Planned Parenthood. She did not qualify for Medicaid or any other public programs. Fortunately, as her income was less than 150% of the Federal Poverty Level, she was accepted by the Health Access Project (HAP) in Salt Lake County, UT.

The HAP is a program created in 2001 with a mission to improve access to coordinated, comprehensive health care for low-income uninsured individuals. Currently, more than 600 physicians and all nine area hospitals are providing free care to qualified individuals, which, since 2002, totals more than $22 million in donated health care.

She was then seen by general surgeon Scott Leckman, MD, FACS, who helped initiate HAP. A mammogram showed a dilated duct with an associated mass. She underwent a lumpectomy. Pathology showed a 2 mm invasive ductal carcinoma with DCIS at the margin. A re-excision and sentinel lymph node biopsy showed clear margins and node-negative disease.

She had adjuvant radiation therapy followed by tamoxifen. Four years later, she is disease free.