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<\/a><\/p>\nDr. Iram Zubair<\/p>\n
In early 2025, during a gynecologic examination as Patel was preparing for another pregnancy,\u00a0Dr. Iram Zubair<\/a>, of Sutter West Bay Medical Group, noticed concerning lesions.<\/p>\n \u201cYou need to schedule a biopsy on your way out,\u201d Patel remembers Dr. Zubair telling her.<\/p>\n Patel<\/a>, herself a Sutter West Bay Medical Group<\/a> physician, wasn\u2019t particularly worried. \u201cI really wanted to brush it off,\u201d she said. \u201cI was just like, \u2018What is she talking about? I\u2019m fine.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n A Friday afternoon phone call<\/p>\n Dr. Zubair performed a biopsy shortly afterward, but Patel still wasn\u2019t expecting anything serious.<\/p>\n Then, around 4 p.m. on a Friday, her phone rang. Patel was at a wedding when Dr. Zubair called.<\/p>\n \u201cHave you seen your biopsy results?\u201d Patel remembers her asking in a very concerned\u00a0tone.<\/p>\n She hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n The biopsy had revealed a high-grade precancerous gynecologic lesion that could progress to cancer if left untreated.<\/p>\n Finding Something No One Was Looking For<\/p>\n Dr. Nisha Patel<\/p>\n Patel was referred to gynecologic oncology and underwent surgery to remove the lesions. So far, she says, things are looking good.<\/p>\n But she can\u2019t stop thinking about how differently things might have unfolded.<\/p>\n \u201cHad Dr. Zubair not been so thorough, I think this would have been found much later,\u201d Patel said. \u201cI feel so lucky that she caught it.\u201d<\/p>\n For Dr. Zubair, the experience underscores the importance of looking beyond the immediate reason a patient comes in.<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot emphasize enough the importance of a thorough and complete exam instead of just looking at the one reason the patient presents to the clinic,\u201d Dr. Zubair said. \u201cDiagnosis and treatment of this condition are so important to ensure that it does not progress to cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n Trying Again<\/p>\n After surgery, Patel had another question for her physicians: Could she safely try to have another child?<\/p>\n She was cleared to move forward.<\/p>\n The following fall, Patel underwent another embryo transfer. It worked.<\/p>\n She returned to Dr. Zubair for her prenatal care, and for much of the pregnancy, things went well. But toward the end, Patel noticed her normally active baby wasn\u2019t moving the way she expected.<\/p>\n Non-stress tests led to repeated trips to triage and, eventually, a three-day hospital stay for monitoring.<\/p>\n As a physician, Patel understood what her care team was looking for. But when her baby\u2019s heart rate dropped during one significant deceleration, she felt more like a worried mother than a doctor.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted my kid to be okay,\u201d she remembered thinking.<\/p>\n At nearly 37 weeks, continued monitoring led her care team to recommend delivery. Patel said she trusted their judgment, felt included in the decisions and appreciated the reassurance that delivering a little early was the right choice for her baby.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s okay. And she\u2019s right there.\u201d<\/p>\n Patel\u2019s daughter was delivered by Cesarean section at Sutter\u2019s CPMC Van Ness Campus hospital<\/a>. As Patel lay on the operating table, Dr. Zubair and Dr. Izumi Cabrera<\/a>, lowered the curtain so she could see her baby as soon as she was born.<\/p>\n![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Nisha-at-CPMC-scaled-e1788383677439.jpg\")
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