Dr. Michael Gieske
Physician and director of operations, St. Elizabeth Physicians
What led you to a career in health care? I honestly can’t remember ever wanting to do anything else. The fascinating science, anatomy and physiology of the human body always amazed and intrigued me. I have been blessed with the means to attain this profession, and I thank God daily for the opportunities he has provided me.
What do you find most rewarding about your work? Communicating to patients in a way they can relate to while discussing some of the most important facets of their lives, including personal, family, social and medical issues, is very rewarding and fulfilling. I’ve been in this profession for 35 years, and while I’ve seen great hardship and sadness in the lives of my patients and their families, it pales in comparison to the satisfaction that making a difference in their health, livelihood and welfare delivers.
You’ve been a leader in building St. E’s program for lung cancer screening. Why is this important and what have the results been like? Unfortunately, the diagnosis of lung cancer today still sounds the same today as it did when I was in medical school 35 years ago, because we find it too late, when it is symptomatic and advanced. This has always troubled me on a visceral level. These are our family members, friends and co-workers. In Kentucky, we are at ground zero for tobacco-related diseases; lung cancer deaths dwarf the next six cancers combined, including breast, colon, and prostate, which garner more attention. Over 50 percent of patients diagnosed with lung cancer die within one year; it is a very deadly and highly aggressive cancer. Now, we have a method to pre-emptively identify lung cancer through a very simple, painless and brief procedure known as low-dose lung cancer screening. I became involved in our program two-and-a-half years ago, and I sensed some frustration in growing this nascent program. I knew we could recruit skilled, innovative, energetic and passionate associates and providers, and build teams to collaborate in this fight against lung cancer. I have assisted in transforming St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s program into one of the most successful in the country.
Our screening program has found 100 lung cancers; we have completed nearly 7,000 scans since inception, up to 400 scans per month. We are finding the majority of these in Stage 1, where cure can be greater than 90 percent. The people I have had the pleasure to work with in our system, regionally, nationally and internationally all share a unique dedication, passion, and desire to increase lung cancer survival, and this has been immeasurably inspiring and invigorating.