In honor of Linda Van Le, MD
Dr. Linda Van Le had had her mind set on making a difference in people’s lives ever since she was 16 years old. That’s when she enrolled in Stanford as a biology major. By age 19, she was the youngest medical student at UC San Francisco.
“Behind on maturity; good on grades,” she jokes. “Really, I was fascinated by how the body works and how doctors have the ability to treat and cure patients.”
She quickly focused her efforts on helping women with cancer.
Today, as co-director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology and director of the Women’s Hospital chemotherapy clinic, Dr. Van Le keeps her focus right where she’s always had it.
“In addition to being able to offer surgical treatment, we make sure the patients receive chemotherapy as smoothly as possible every step of the way,” she says. “Our nurses and staff are truly great. Everyone works together with a positive attitude and has the common goal of working for the patient.”
And just as she suspected long ago, there’s no other job she’d rather have.
“It’s a very compassionate kind of job,” she says. “I feel like this is one of the few professions where you can be nice to people and help patients medically as well as emotionally.”