Meet the Models, NYC: Miriam Greene

Miriam Greene is a renown gynecologist. As such, she is quite familiar with giving people news of cancer. She never thought it would be her on the other side of the table.

Ironically, despite her extensive knowledge of the importance of early testing and detection, Miriam often neglected her own mammogram. When she finally got one, she saw one of her patients in the waiting room. The following year, when that same patient came in for her yearly visit with Miriam herself, it reminded Miriam to schedule her mammogram. It would save her life, when imaging came back to show an abnormality. Given her ability to read scans, she didn’t even need the doctor to confirm what she knew- she had breast cancer. Luckily, it was caught early- stage 0- which meant she would move directly into radiation treatment.

Miriam’s attitude took a head on approach: “Being a woman, you have a 1 in 12 lifetime risk of getting breast cancer, no family history required. I am not afraid to tell my patients I have had breast cancer and encourage them to get their mammogram. No matter what the results, you need to keep living. You cannot let it stop you.”

Though she echoes what many of our models say, that it is a “club you never want to be a part of,” she notes how important it is to be there for those going through diagnosis: “I was one of those people. I have been through it. I know it could come back and that makes you very vulnerable.” Despite those thoughts, Miriam doesn’t ever want to be defined by having cancer, but notes how it has helped her connect with her patients even more: “I am careful who I tell because I don’t want to be associated only with cancer, but I will be 100% open about it with people who are resistant to testing because look at me- early detection was key to my outcome and I can serve as a reminder that you can go on living.”