New women’s services line reaches out to the community

Dr. Jennifer Burzawa

“I was lucky enough to do my fellowship at MD Anderson at the main campus and really enjoyed my training there,” said Dr. Jennifer Burzawa, assistant professor in the department of gynecologic oncology. “I think having been at the main campus for four years for fellowship we definitely see when there is a need for expanding the level of MD Anderson care out to patients who don’t otherwise have access to it or the ability to come to the medical center to receive it.”

It was because of this communal need that Burzawa decided to implement a new women’s services line at the Katy Regional Care Center, located on the campus of Christus St. Catherine Hospital.

Dr. Burzawa first became interested in women’s health when in she visited Haiti as part of a global outreach program with her medical school.

“It has the highest rate of cervical cancer in this hemisphere and they have no chemotherapy or radiation therapy in the country, ” said Fleming. “I became very interested in gynecology and oncology from that exposure and that interest just kind of grew throughout my OB/GYN residency at Baylor [University Medical Center in Dallas].”

Burzawa completed a six-year joint degree program at the University of Miami. “I was basically accepted into medical school as a high school student and did two years of undergraduate and then the normal four years of medical school,” said Burzawa. After completing a fellowship at MD Anderson, an opportunity arose regarding a gynecologist/oncologist to help complete the women’s services out in the regional care centers. Burzawa jumped at the chance. “I thought it was a great opportunity to be involved in the new program out here.”

The new women’s care service line began in June of this year. It was created to reach out to the community in a way that MD Anderson is not always able to. “We just want to emphasize that we are MD Anderson physicians that are trying to provide the same level of care for patients that they would receive at the main campus, that they otherwise might not have access to or the ability to go through,” said Burzawa.

The resources available to the Katy community at the MD Anderson Regional Care Center continue to expand. “We have a full time breast surgeon here, [as well as] myself and Mike Bevers, the other [gynecologist]/oncologist who actually splits time between Sugar Land and Katy. We have radiation oncology and medical oncology to help treat our patients,” said Burzawa. “We have the full compliment of services.”

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“One of the more unique things about Katy, especially from a gynecological perspective is that there are fewer physicians that are currently practicing out here in that field,” said Burzawa. “We’re trying to forge a collaboration with physicians to help care for these patients.”