Dr. Denise Marchand Thigpen, MD

I am a 3 year survivor of breast cancer. When I had an MRI that showed an area of concern and a biopsy was recommended, I was quite anxious. During the MRI-guided biopsy, while waiting for the images to be read (which took over 30 minutes), I raised my head from the machine as I was in a very uncomfortable position and needed relief. Dr. Thigpen came into the room and yelled at me to "put my head down immediately!" She repeatedly shouted this at me. She then proceeded with the biopsy without saying another word to me, not even to let me know they were about to begin. Afterwards Dr. Thigpen told me that they had seen a "line" on the imaging and that "it could definitely be cancer." This was obviously extremely distressing to hear. When I confirmed that they were not seeing a mass (which is typically indicative of cancer) she agreed it wasn't a mass but repeated that it "could definitely be cancer." I was devastated. Today, I received the results of the biopsy and am incredibly… thankful to say that it was totally benign and I am grateful to be cancer-free. However, the emotional pain and extreme level of disrespect I was show by Dr. Thigpen made what was already a very stressful and worrisome experience much more upsetting than necessary.