Dr. Richard Zelkowitz's chose to treat and prevent breast cancer after his mother was diagnosed with the disease.

Photo Credit: Contributed Photo

Dr. Richard Zelkowitz

Photo Credit: Contributed Photo

Norwalk Hospital's Dr. Richard Zelkowitz could have chosen any specialized medical field to hone his profession. But his decision to take up the fight against breast cancer was personal.

“If my father had had his heart attack first, I'd probably be a cardiologist,” Zelkowitz says. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native who now lives in Westport takes pride in his blue-collar roots. That same father drove a cab to put Zelkowitz through school.

But his father's heart attack didn't come first. And though his dad survived his medical incident, Zelkowitz's mother did not.

Among his many titles, Zelkowitz is director of the Smilow Family Breast Health Center, where he concentrates on battling the disease that took his mother. Fighting breast cancer is his sole focus.

“The hospital has really let me just zero in and focus on that one disease, and it's led to some very good research,” Zelkowitz says. He's participated in studies and clinical trials because of the freedom the hospital allows him.

He sees his work as a way to make something positive come out of his mother's death. At the Smilow Family Breast Health Center, Zelkowitz is helping to save other people's mothers.

The significant improvements in cancer detection practices over the years give Zelkowitz hope. In Fairfield County in particular, he said most cases he sees involve early detections from mammograms. He says the traditional home exam is fine for detecting lumps that might need attention, but by the time a patient can feel it, the disease has already progressed. Early detection can see it sooner, smaller and at a point in which there are more and better treatment options.

Zelkowitz misses his mother, a schoolteacher who was his inspiration. At the same time, he's happy to still have his father in his life. “He's one of the most alive 80-year-old men you'll ever meet.”