Provider Profile: Dr. David Shepro

Brad Kane Dr. David Shepro, medical director of cancer services, Eaton Place Oncology, Saint Vincent Medical Group

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Dr. David Shepro came to the Saint Vincent Hospital Cancer and Wellness Center two years ago after the system owned by Texas-based Tenet Healthcare opened the $23-million facility in 2013. He works directly with cancer patients and oversees the medical care at the center. He received his medical degree from UMass Medical School in Worcester and sits on the Massachusetts Society of Clinical Oncology.

Q: How do you stay positive in such a stressful job?

A: It is partly my personality that I gravitated to this work.

This phone call I got, talking to a man about his wife dying at home, if I think about it a lot, I could break down in tears and be non-functional. But they need me to be a good doctor and give them rational advice and rational counsel. This woman that we are talking about has had advanced pancreas cancer for a number of years, and her quality of life until very recently was just wonderful. That is rare with pancreas cancer. Helping her get to that point where she is extremely functional is so gratifying that keeps me personally going.

Q: In tough situations like that, how do you view your role?

A: We always say we want to prolong the quality of life – the good parts – we don’t want to prolong suffering. With drugs and radiation, if we can help patients squeak out more time, that is what keeps us going.

Q: How does that shape your view of the world?

A: One might think that getting cancer brings out the worst in people. Really, whatever their personalities are coming into a cancer diagnosis, it is the same personality after a cancer diagnosis; but cancer tends to bring out the very best of people, their families and their communities. We see strangers helping out people with cancer, and that is wonderful to see. That gives you a little more faith in the crazy communities we live in.

Q: How do you deal with the mental side of a cancer diagnosis?

A: Paying attention to the psychologic needs of our patients is really important. Believe or not, doctors do some of that. When someone is diagnosed with cancer and they have anxiety and sadness – which are normal – sometime the sadness is extreme, and we label it has depression. We work with practitioners in the community who offer counseling to patients.

We had a woman – I think it was two years ago – who lost her husband at a young age and was really struggling with her cancer diagnosis. Someone actually found her on the bridge for I-290, ready to kill herself. That is how severe it was. That is an example of somebody you really have to look out for.

Q: What is it like working for Tenet, a for-profit healthcare provider?

A: Tenet is a great partner, but we are always trying to get more resources. We would like to get another financial counselor, for example, and we have to justify that to Tenet to say, “This is how it is going to create better quality of care.” Many times, it turns out to be a smart business decision. We have to frame what we do on the business side.

Q: What comes next?

A: I always kid around with the administrators because they say we need more business. I say, “No. The goal is to close this building. Make us go away.” That is really what we are trying to do.

Our goal is really preventing cancer and understanding cancer. Reaching out to the community for early screening and prevention, that is where we want to be.

This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by Brad Kane.