MCR radiologists, area physicians and Sentara leadership gathered recently to celebrate and honor the legacy of MCR Breast radiologist Nina Fabiszewski, MD, FACR, who has made a tremendous, lasting impact on breast care in Hampton Roads for over 30 years.
In the early 1990’s the use of mammography to identify breast cancer before it was clinically detectable was a rapidly expanding field of medicine and it became apparent that it would benefit from subspecialty training in breast imaging and breast surgery. With the addition of the first breast subspecialty trained surgeon Dr. Claire Carman to the Norfolk area, MCR recruited Nina L. Fabiszewski, MD, FACR, who had completed a Breast Imaging Fellowship at the Magee Women’s Hospital/University of Pittsburgh program. Dr. Fabiszewski joined MCR in 1993 and quickly became the area’s leading authority on the imaging and diagnosis of benign and malignant breast pathology. She led the introduction of breast MRI to the Hampton Roads area and began performing the region’s first MRI guided breast biopsies. During her career, Dr. Fabiszewski trained dozens of future radiologists in breast imaging and ultimately created the area’s only fellowship in breast imaging which became accredited by the ACGME in 2008. The expertise offered by Dr. Fabiszewski and other MCR breast radiologists has helped detect breast cancer at the earliest possible stages for countless patients in this region. MCR continues to have the largest breast section in Eastern Virginia serving patients of Sentara and Bon Secours health care systems.