When gynecological oncologist and surgeon Dr. Giselka David-West is in the operating room, she's in her element.
"Operating is pretty intense," she said. "But you get in your element, you're very focused on your task at hand.
But, she says its hard to see people at their worst moment.
"It's mortifying, scary, horrifying. No one wants to hear the word cancer," she says.
Dr. David-West, who works at both Phelps Hospital and Northern Westchester Hospital, says she works extra hard to not bring the trauma home with her.
"There has to be a disconnect, you know?" said Dr. David-West. "If you allow the work to travel with you everywhere and all the things you're dealing with, then you lose who you are."
So, she has outlets, musical ones. And that's why every now and then, you might find her in her "other" element: on a stage somewhere in the country, as the lead singer on tour with her band "NED," short for "No evidence of disease." The four words every patient wants to hear.
"We all want to hear it too, we want to hear it for them," she says.
All five members of the band are gynecological oncologists from all over the country, and their performances are a celebration of their patient's wins.
"We have the patients come up with a little cardboard," she explained. "It's called a cardboard testimonial. On a big poster board they write out their journey and how long they're cancer free."
Watch their celebration at the Pleasantville Music Festival on July 13.