Page 33 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2016

Dr. Bailey makes this November extra thankful for one family
In 2012, Pascagoula native Meg Foster received a surprise when she went in for a routine mammogram — her very first one — and learned she had breast cancer. Since she had no family history of the disease, she thought
that her chance of getting breast cancer was minimal. “I thought I would die of a heart attack long before I had to deal with breast cancer,” she joked. “Heart disease
runs fairly deep in my family. I didn’t know much about breast cancer before this.” She can laugh about it now, but at the time, the diagnosis was terrifying.
She is married to Walker Foster and is the mother of four daughters: Elizabeth, Emma, Anne Marie, and Mary Walker. Her youngest was only seven at the time Foster learned she had cancer. “My first concern was my daughters,” she said. “It’s every woman’s fear: What if I’m not around to see them grow up?”
Facing a terrifying situation, Foster found that her doctor, Dr. John D. Bailey, and the rest of the staff at the South Mississippi Breast Center helped put her at ease. “He makes you feel very comfortable, and he takes all the time you need for questions. He is just very reassuring.”
If there is one thing a cancer diagnosis brings, it is questions. “Cancer is very confusing — even if you go online. I was worried my daughters would go online and start Googling things. It can be scary to read all that,” Foster explained.
Fortunately, Dr. Bailey and his team were ready to help guide her through the process, answering any questions Foster and her family had. “The whole team from start to finish was awesome in helping you understand the process. They really cared about the whole family, and they offered to talk to my daughters. They went above and beyond. I felt like family in the way the took care of me,” she said.
Today, Foster is cancer-free. She was fortunate
that her cancer was caught early, thanks to the mammogram screening. She recommends Dr. Bailey and the South Mississippi Breast Center to anyone going through something similar. “They made a
bad experience the best it could be,” she said. “It’s important that you have a good rapport with your physician, and you need to have open communication. You need to feel like you can ask questions.”
For Foster, finding the answers to her questions and learning about her disease proved to be empowering for her and her daughters. She would encourage
anyone in a similar situation to find a doctor who makes himself or herself available to patients.
Every woman needs to be proactive in her health by checking in annually with her doctor, by performing monthly breast self-exams to detect any changes in breast tissue, and by getting an annual mammogram. A doctor will be able to suggest at what age a patient should begin annual mammogram screening. Even more important is finding a doctor who is qualified.
Since joining South Mississippi Surgeons in 1996, Dr. Bailey has built a career around caring for patients such as Meg Foster. His career in medicine began following undergraduate studies at Rhodes College, where he was honored with a Cambridge scholarship; he then attended the University of Alabama School
of Medicine in Birmingham, where he received his medical degree. In 2000, the Mississippi Chapter of the American College of Surgeons named him Young Surgeon of the Year.
Dr. Bailey is board certified by the American Board of Surgeons, the American Society of Breast Surgeons in both Stereotactic Breast Procedures and Breast Ultrasound, and the American Board of Medical Examiners. His areas of expertise include lumpectomy and mastectomy, advanced laparoscopic and robotic surgery, hernia repair, and thyroid surgery. He currently serves as the director of the Singing River Hospital Vascular Lab.
South Mississippi Breast Center
1124 Oakleigh Road, Ocean Springs 2525 Telephone Road, Pascagoula 228.875.3778 • www.smbreastcenter.com
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November 2016 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 33