"The most exciting thing I think I do - I'm sure the rest of the world wouldn't agree - is my collaboration with the basic scientists, the laboratory work I do. Because really, basic science is what is going to change our knowledge of cancer."

UMBC: Your initial plan was not to become a doctor. What did you study at UMBC and what was your post-graduate plan?

LS: I studied psychology and I had no plan. Can't you tell?! That was the '60s and I had a lot of adventures and jobs all over the country and in Europe for about six years. There were times when I didn't have money, and that's when my family heard from me and eventually my father said, "Get a job."

UMBC: How did that lead to medical school?

LS: Well, it is the family business. My father and my brother are both physicians.

UMBC: What drew you to surgery in general and breast health specifically?

LS: When I first went to medical school I envisioned becoming a pediatrician. My first rotation was surgery and after that, nothing else came close. There's so much activity and it gives you immediate gratification. You see a problem, formulate a solution, implement the solution, and almost always the patient improves rapidly.

UMBC: How did you parlay that into breast health?

LS: When I graduated from my residency, there were very few women surgeons in Baltimore. I was only the third or fourth woman to graduate from the University of Maryland's surgery residency. I started as a general surgeon, but I guess women gravitated to me with their breast problems. I was still in academic medicine at the University of Maryland at the time and got very involved in the oncology research community. I became involved in clinical trials. My specific area of study is breast cancer in women over 70. I also began collaborative basic science research studying proteins in breast cancer patients. So even though I never had specific training in breast disease, between the women coming to me with their clinical problems and my interest in the clinical and basic science research my career evolved.

UMBC: You were instrumental in creating the Comprehensive Breast Care Center at GBMC. How and why did you bring it to fruition?

LS: The care of breast patients resembles an upside down pyramid. The entire population of women over the age of 40 needs to have breast screening and of that, a certain percentage will have an abnormality and need additional imaging. And hopefully that's the end of it. Another small percentage of that group will need to be evaluated by a surgeon or have a biopsy. A small percentage of that group will have cancer and require further treatment. My idea was to facilitate the process. What we have done is combine the breast center with radiology. If someone gets called back for more imaging, needs a biopsy or a surgeon's evaluation, it can be done in one place, and maybe even in one day.

UMBC: You have been named on numerous Top Doctor lists and received many accolades. What do you consider your most important accomplishment?

LS: My son. Being a good mother. I think I'm a good doctor and that I do a good job, but that's just what I do.

UMBC: What is the single most important thing you think women can do to improve their overall breast health?

LS: Mammograms and breast self-exams. Mammography can find tumors when they're small and that's preferable. The thing about breast self-exam is you must know your own anatomy. Your gynecologist examines thousands of breasts a year; she or he can't possibly remember everyone's lumps. Everyone has lumps and breast self-exam allows you to note a change.

UMBC: What is the most exciting part of your job?

LS: The most exciting thing I think I do - I'm sure the rest of the world wouldn't agree - is my collaboration with the basic scientists, the laboratory work I do. Because really, basic science is what is going to change our knowledge of cancer.

Dr. Schnaper's most recent research, "Lumpectomy plus Tamoxifen with or without Irradiation in Women 70 Years of Age or Older with Early Breast Cancer," was published in the September 2, 2004 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine.