Get up close with our breast specialists and hear more from them on their philosophy for patient care and interesting personal anecdotes.
“As a woman playing multiple roles in my life (whether a daughter, a sister, a wife or a mother), I feel that I can better understand and relate, and give them (patients) sound and professional advice.”
Dr Lee Wai Peng is a Senior Consultant and Breast Surgeon and she specialises in treating benign and malignant breast conditions. Prior to joining Solis, she was a Senior Consultant and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Changi General Hospital (CGH), a position she grew into following the completion of her advanced specialty training in general surgery in 2014. She strives to provide holistic and individualised care with a personal touch for ladies with breast conditions and is a strong advocate for encompassing cosmesis with surgical therapy.
Q. Why did you choose to become a breast surgeon?
My interest in surgery first started when I was in my teens and I had been watching dramas (imagine ER and other local or Hong Kong TVB dramas) of surgeons operating and patients getting better immediately after. This fascination continued during my medical student and internship days where I could see how surgery healed patients, and the immense gratitude that the patients have for their doctors.
Being a woman, I feel that I could relate so much better with other women who were facing breast health issues, and hence, I decided to choose breast surgery. Patients’ symptoms and the reason to seek help and even their choice of treatment are greatly influenced by the people around them – it also depends on the stage of life they are at and problems that they might be facing at that time. As a woman playing multiple roles in my life (whether a daughter, a sister, a wife or a mother), I feel that I can better understand and relate, and give them sound and professional advice.
Q. Share with us a patient’s story that left a deep impression on you
I had a patient who came to me with a breast lump found in one of her breasts which eventually turned out to be breast cancer after further evaluation. During our consultation, she was extremely depressed and was facing many issues at home. She had to support her children, her husband had passed away from a heart attack, and she was estranged from her own family (i.e. her mother and siblings) during such difficult times. She almost didn’t want to have any treatment for her cancer. With encouragement from myself and my team of nurses, she came forward to seek treatment. We even managed to get her family to rally and support her during her treatment period and helped her to take care of her children. Their relationship improved eventually and they have been eternally grateful to us. They called it “blessing in disguise”.
Q. What is ONE myth or message that you would like women to know about breast cancer?
Breast cancer can happen to anyone and any woman. Every woman has a chance of developing breast cancer. You don’t have to be a smoker, drinker or leading an unhealthy lifestyle to get breast cancer. No family history does not mean that there is no chance of getting breast cancer.
Q. What do you do during your free time?
I used to love to do outdoor sports such as running and cycling. I also took up yoga. Travel has always been something I look forward to, especially for that mental break from work. However, with covid (pandemic turning to endemic), I have learnt to treasure my loved ones and now I look forward to spending my time with them. I recently found the interest to do more research work on breast cancer and have been spending quite a bit of time on it.
Q. What do you think you will be doing if you didn’t become a breast surgeon?
If I hadn’t been a breast surgeon, I think I would want to be an educator and work with pre-schoolers. After having two kids of my own, I have seen how innocent their minds can be and how much the world can amaze and “wow” them.
Article contributed and reviewed by Dr Lee Wai Peng, Senior Consultant and Breast Surgeon at Solis Breast Care & Surgery
