Welcome Dr. Jeffrey Fowler to The Women's Cancer Center
The Women's Cancer Center at Deaconess is ever expanding. In today's episode, we welcome Dr. Jeffrey Fowler to The Women's Cancer Center and learn more about his background, what brought him to Deaconess, and his approach to medical care.
Featuring:
Learn more about Jeffrey Fowler, MD
Jeffrey Fowler, MD
Jeffrey Fowler, MD is a Gynecologic Oncologist at The Women's Cancer Center.Learn more about Jeffrey Fowler, MD
Transcription:
Deborah Howell (Host): Welcome. The Women's Cancer Center at Deaconess is ever-expanding. Today, we'll welcome Dr. Jeffrey Fowler to The Women's Cancer Center and learn a little bit more about him, his background, and his approach to medical care. Dr. Jeffrey Fowler is a gynecologic-oncologist at The Women's Cancer Center. Welcome, Dr. Fowler.
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: Thank you. It's great to be here.
Deborah Howell (Host): So can you tell us about your background?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: I grew up in Michigan and went to college in Michigan and medical school in Chicago at Northwestern. And I did OB-GYN training at Ohio State University. And a subspecialty of OB-GYN is gynecologic-oncology. So I did a fellowship for that, extra training for that and I did that at UCLA, completed all that in 1991. And my first attending physician job as a gynecologic-oncologist was at University of Minnesota.
Yeah. So we lived in Minneapolis until 1997, and then I was recruited back to Ohio State to be the Division Director of gynecologic-oncology at Ohio State. And one thing that's unique about our state is they have freestanding cancer hospital, a national cancer institute cancer hospital, it's the third largest in the country actually, little known fact.
Deborah Howell (Host): Wow.
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: And so over 25 years, we've built a very large gynecologic-oncology program there, recruited a lot of doctors and researchers and built a training program and did a lot of clinical trials. And we're busy taking care of all types of diagnoses, women diagnosed with gynecologic cancers. So I'm 63 years old now. And a couple of years ago I decided to retire, just give myself more time. But in that process, I said, "Well maybe I'll look into some part-time opportunities. And long story short, that's how I met Dr. Schuman. I didn't know him before, but my first boss at University of Minnesota was his mentor in his fellowship program at University of Miami in Miami, Florida. So he set us up together and I came down and interviewed for half a day. First time, I've ever visited Evansville. And I was kind of intrigued with the Deaconess Hospital Health System and Women's Hospital. I just connected with the people and my first impression was that the culture was something that I was looking for. And that's how I ended up here. So I work a week a month with Dr. Schuman.
Deborah Howell (Host): Well, Deaconess is very, very fortunate to have you on board. I'm curious, why did you choose the field of gynecologic-oncology?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: Well, when I went to medical school, the last thing I was thinking of going into was OB-GYN. But when I did the rotation, I really liked it. I took care of all different ages of women and you'd have the opportunity to take care of them throughout their life for different medical and possibly surgical conditions, both obstetrics and gynecology. And I never thought I would, but I went into OB-GYN. And as I said, that's where I did my residency at Ohio State University. And while I was there early in my residency, became exposed to the subspecialty gynecologic-oncology. It's a little different subspecialty in surgical oncology.
The difference between gynecologic-oncology and other surgical subspecialties in oncology is that we also give the medical treatments needed, the chemotherapy and other anti-cancer therapies except for radiation therapy, of course. But, by virtue of that, our training, we take care of the patient throughout their cancer journey, both for their surgeries and medical problems related to their cancers and if they need chemotherapy and other treatments like that.
And so it's a very challenging subspecialty whether it's challenging surgeries, challenging cases, complexity of care, but also it's very rewarding. You get to know your patients well, get to know their families pretty well. And that's one of the aspects that attracted me to gynecologic-oncology and it's also the aspect that kind of led me to still work some part-time to remain engaged that way.
Deborah Howell (Host): Right. Well, it's a whole circle of life thing. And what types of patients will you be treating at the Women's Cancer Center?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: in addition to taking care of gynecologic cancer problems, we also do a complicated benign gynecologic surgery. But patients who have a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, and a few other less common gynecologic cancers, or have suspicion of those cancers, we'll be involved in their care, whether it's various types of surgical procedures. And in that arena, we perform a lot of robotic surgery, which is an advanced form of minimally invasive surgery and allows us to do complicated or complex surgeries, but in a minimally invasive, approach, benefiting the patient in terms of recovery and less side effects. And if a patient needs further therapy for those types of cancers such as ovarian cancer, we'll also take care of them for their medical needs there, chemotherapy and other newer therapies that are out there now.
Deborah Howell (Host): Yeah, some exciting new ones. So what can patients expect at their first appointment with you?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: One of the things that attracted me to come here is team that Dr. Schuman's put together and his staff. They're excellent. They're very friendly people, but they're knowledgeable. They care, they know the field. And so when a patient comes in and they first meet with one of the nurses who kind of screens their medical history. But actually, our office does a lot of advanced work on the patient's history. We get all the records together and that's put in an outline format for me. And then I'll meet the patient and go over their history with them and ask them hopefully relevant questions related to that history, get to know them a little bit. Meet their family, if they bring them. And then, we'll examine the patient. After we do an examination, we'll have the patient get dressed. And then, I'll come back in and we'll discuss our findings for that time and various plan or treatment options. And we take whatever time is needed, depending on what the findings are with the volume of information we have and any other needs.
Deborah Howell (Host): That's so refreshing. I just read an article the other day that says the average patient in America gets to spend about 14 real seconds with their doctor before the doctor interrupts. It sounds like you're not one of those doctors.
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: I can never do that. Sometimes I get behind the office, in the clinic, because I want to provide whatever information and counseling is needed. But patients who are suffering from a gynecologic cancer or might have one, we have to take other steps. It's not a straight forward plan and often needs a fair amount of explanation. And, at the end of the day, I feel better that we take that time. I know the staff does as well, our staff, and I sure think the patients benefit from it as well and don't mind waiting.
Deborah Howell (Host): Yeah, it's a real balancing act, but, thank you for that. What are you looking forward to the most as you start this new journey with the Women's Cancer Center?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: I made this step, this transition, into semi-retirement. I wanted to be of service and still provide care for something that I've trained for my whole adult life. And I felt I needed to give a shot at still contributing. And one of my objectives was to go to a location that really needed additional help. Dr. Schuman is an excellent gynecologic-oncologist. The help he needed was more doctor power, not more knowledge or skill. He's a great surgeon and great gynecologic-oncologist, a wonderful person. So I just wanted to contribute to help decrease the wait time for patients, for getting into the office, getting to surgery, help with whatever the gynecologic-oncology program here needs. That was my goal. And it's really been rewarding. I've enjoyed it. Like I said, the first time I visited Evansville was to visit here to look at the job and, I really liked the community, liked the people. In many fronts, it's been very rewarding.
Deborah Howell (Host): I'm so glad to hear that. And it's such a worthy goal you have. Is there anything else you'd like to add to our conversation?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: As a physician, I have a good sense of the culture at Deaconess and at The Women's Hospital. And I know that the patients and their families see that as well. It's been really rewarding to be part of that.
Deborah Howell (Host): And it's a win-win for everybody. And it's such excellent information you're giving us today. Thanks so much for being with us today, Dr. Fowler, and best of luck going forward at The Women's Cancer Center.
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: Great. Thank you. Nice to meet you.
Deborah Howell (Host): And that wraps up this episode of the podcast series from Deaconess The Women's Hospital, a place for all your life. For more information, visit deaconess.com/womenscancer or call 812-842-2210. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all the other Deaconess Women's Hospital Podcasts. For more health tips and updates, you can follow us on your social channels. This is The Women's Hospital, a place for all your life. I'm Deborah Howell. Thanks for listening and have yourself a great day.
Deborah Howell (Host): Welcome. The Women's Cancer Center at Deaconess is ever-expanding. Today, we'll welcome Dr. Jeffrey Fowler to The Women's Cancer Center and learn a little bit more about him, his background, and his approach to medical care. Dr. Jeffrey Fowler is a gynecologic-oncologist at The Women's Cancer Center. Welcome, Dr. Fowler.
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: Thank you. It's great to be here.
Deborah Howell (Host): So can you tell us about your background?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: I grew up in Michigan and went to college in Michigan and medical school in Chicago at Northwestern. And I did OB-GYN training at Ohio State University. And a subspecialty of OB-GYN is gynecologic-oncology. So I did a fellowship for that, extra training for that and I did that at UCLA, completed all that in 1991. And my first attending physician job as a gynecologic-oncologist was at University of Minnesota.
Yeah. So we lived in Minneapolis until 1997, and then I was recruited back to Ohio State to be the Division Director of gynecologic-oncology at Ohio State. And one thing that's unique about our state is they have freestanding cancer hospital, a national cancer institute cancer hospital, it's the third largest in the country actually, little known fact.
Deborah Howell (Host): Wow.
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: And so over 25 years, we've built a very large gynecologic-oncology program there, recruited a lot of doctors and researchers and built a training program and did a lot of clinical trials. And we're busy taking care of all types of diagnoses, women diagnosed with gynecologic cancers. So I'm 63 years old now. And a couple of years ago I decided to retire, just give myself more time. But in that process, I said, "Well maybe I'll look into some part-time opportunities. And long story short, that's how I met Dr. Schuman. I didn't know him before, but my first boss at University of Minnesota was his mentor in his fellowship program at University of Miami in Miami, Florida. So he set us up together and I came down and interviewed for half a day. First time, I've ever visited Evansville. And I was kind of intrigued with the Deaconess Hospital Health System and Women's Hospital. I just connected with the people and my first impression was that the culture was something that I was looking for. And that's how I ended up here. So I work a week a month with Dr. Schuman.
Deborah Howell (Host): Well, Deaconess is very, very fortunate to have you on board. I'm curious, why did you choose the field of gynecologic-oncology?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: Well, when I went to medical school, the last thing I was thinking of going into was OB-GYN. But when I did the rotation, I really liked it. I took care of all different ages of women and you'd have the opportunity to take care of them throughout their life for different medical and possibly surgical conditions, both obstetrics and gynecology. And I never thought I would, but I went into OB-GYN. And as I said, that's where I did my residency at Ohio State University. And while I was there early in my residency, became exposed to the subspecialty gynecologic-oncology. It's a little different subspecialty in surgical oncology.
The difference between gynecologic-oncology and other surgical subspecialties in oncology is that we also give the medical treatments needed, the chemotherapy and other anti-cancer therapies except for radiation therapy, of course. But, by virtue of that, our training, we take care of the patient throughout their cancer journey, both for their surgeries and medical problems related to their cancers and if they need chemotherapy and other treatments like that.
And so it's a very challenging subspecialty whether it's challenging surgeries, challenging cases, complexity of care, but also it's very rewarding. You get to know your patients well, get to know their families pretty well. And that's one of the aspects that attracted me to gynecologic-oncology and it's also the aspect that kind of led me to still work some part-time to remain engaged that way.
Deborah Howell (Host): Right. Well, it's a whole circle of life thing. And what types of patients will you be treating at the Women's Cancer Center?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: in addition to taking care of gynecologic cancer problems, we also do a complicated benign gynecologic surgery. But patients who have a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, and a few other less common gynecologic cancers, or have suspicion of those cancers, we'll be involved in their care, whether it's various types of surgical procedures. And in that arena, we perform a lot of robotic surgery, which is an advanced form of minimally invasive surgery and allows us to do complicated or complex surgeries, but in a minimally invasive, approach, benefiting the patient in terms of recovery and less side effects. And if a patient needs further therapy for those types of cancers such as ovarian cancer, we'll also take care of them for their medical needs there, chemotherapy and other newer therapies that are out there now.
Deborah Howell (Host): Yeah, some exciting new ones. So what can patients expect at their first appointment with you?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: One of the things that attracted me to come here is team that Dr. Schuman's put together and his staff. They're excellent. They're very friendly people, but they're knowledgeable. They care, they know the field. And so when a patient comes in and they first meet with one of the nurses who kind of screens their medical history. But actually, our office does a lot of advanced work on the patient's history. We get all the records together and that's put in an outline format for me. And then I'll meet the patient and go over their history with them and ask them hopefully relevant questions related to that history, get to know them a little bit. Meet their family, if they bring them. And then, we'll examine the patient. After we do an examination, we'll have the patient get dressed. And then, I'll come back in and we'll discuss our findings for that time and various plan or treatment options. And we take whatever time is needed, depending on what the findings are with the volume of information we have and any other needs.
Deborah Howell (Host): That's so refreshing. I just read an article the other day that says the average patient in America gets to spend about 14 real seconds with their doctor before the doctor interrupts. It sounds like you're not one of those doctors.
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: I can never do that. Sometimes I get behind the office, in the clinic, because I want to provide whatever information and counseling is needed. But patients who are suffering from a gynecologic cancer or might have one, we have to take other steps. It's not a straight forward plan and often needs a fair amount of explanation. And, at the end of the day, I feel better that we take that time. I know the staff does as well, our staff, and I sure think the patients benefit from it as well and don't mind waiting.
Deborah Howell (Host): Yeah, it's a real balancing act, but, thank you for that. What are you looking forward to the most as you start this new journey with the Women's Cancer Center?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: I made this step, this transition, into semi-retirement. I wanted to be of service and still provide care for something that I've trained for my whole adult life. And I felt I needed to give a shot at still contributing. And one of my objectives was to go to a location that really needed additional help. Dr. Schuman is an excellent gynecologic-oncologist. The help he needed was more doctor power, not more knowledge or skill. He's a great surgeon and great gynecologic-oncologist, a wonderful person. So I just wanted to contribute to help decrease the wait time for patients, for getting into the office, getting to surgery, help with whatever the gynecologic-oncology program here needs. That was my goal. And it's really been rewarding. I've enjoyed it. Like I said, the first time I visited Evansville was to visit here to look at the job and, I really liked the community, liked the people. In many fronts, it's been very rewarding.
Deborah Howell (Host): I'm so glad to hear that. And it's such a worthy goal you have. Is there anything else you'd like to add to our conversation?
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: As a physician, I have a good sense of the culture at Deaconess and at The Women's Hospital. And I know that the patients and their families see that as well. It's been really rewarding to be part of that.
Deborah Howell (Host): And it's a win-win for everybody. And it's such excellent information you're giving us today. Thanks so much for being with us today, Dr. Fowler, and best of luck going forward at The Women's Cancer Center.
Dr. Jeffrey Fowler: Great. Thank you. Nice to meet you.
Deborah Howell (Host): And that wraps up this episode of the podcast series from Deaconess The Women's Hospital, a place for all your life. For more information, visit deaconess.com/womenscancer or call 812-842-2210. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all the other Deaconess Women's Hospital Podcasts. For more health tips and updates, you can follow us on your social channels. This is The Women's Hospital, a place for all your life. I'm Deborah Howell. Thanks for listening and have yourself a great day.