In Memoriam: Dr. Leslie P. Polland MD

 

As a physician and clinical pathologist, Leslie's world-class diagnostic skills garnered her international acclaim, leading many to dub her a real-life "House." As a co-founder of the Good News Care Center, Miami's first free healthcare facility, Leslie received national attention for helping to pioneer a sensible solution for people unable to afford health insurance.		 Dr Polland
However, it was her fourteen years of volunteer service to the Miami community that made Leslie a home-town hero.  In 2008, Dr. Polland received Volunteer Physician of the Year 2008 award by Miami-Dade County Health Department. This was the second year that Leslie had won this award, with the first one coming in 2001. Leslie began her work at the clinic when it opened its doors in 1996. In addition to her work at the Good News Care Center, Leslie also served on the Physician's Community Service Committee at Baptist Hospital.

Leslie was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 1, 1942, to Alvin and Sophia Polland: two professional artists, graphic designers, innovators in industrial photography; and in the case of her mother, a classically-trained pianist (although her father could also play piano, he never pursued it). As a child, Leslie had an insatiable curiosity about everything, much to the chagrin of her doting parents. Leslie had also developed a deep affinity for animals, especially birds, but also many of the non-pet variety such as squirrels, butterflies, and even bumblebees. So strong was her connection to
and communication with animals, Leslie might have grown up to be Dr. Doolittle instead of Dr. Polland.

By Age 8, Leslie got an early start on becoming one of the rebellious teens of the 1950's. Leslie was a bit of a tomboy who liked to show off that she could do anything that boys could do. She was probably inspired by the 1950 musical film, "Annie Get your Gun" and its iconic song to the women of WWII:

"I can do anything better than you can. Everything I can do better than you!"

Leslie would back up those words in spades when she graduated from college and set her sights on becoming a physician. She applied to the University of Miami School of Medical College at a time when the odds of a female being accepted were pretty slim. She not only graduated in 1969, she finished 3rd highest in her class. In 1970, she completed her internship at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach - one of the top hospitals in the country - and in 1974, she completed her residency there. Despite the significant advances that women had made in the workplace, between the late 70's and early 80's, medicine was still very much a male-dominated profession. Her youthful looks and bubbly personality had downsides – both patients and physicians were convinced that she was much too young to be a medical doctor and must be a nurse instead.

Leslie's success as a physician surprised many practitioners in the profession - she did not just "shatter the glass ceiling"- she obliterated it. Leslie often remarked, jokingly, that her decision to go into pathology was motivated less by a love for diagnostics and more by the prospect of not
hearing, "Oh, nurse!"

Leslie became one of the most successful clinical pathologists in the country, and as word of her expertise spread, so did the demand for her services. A number of factors influenced Leslie's decision to start her own clinical laboratory, but one of the lesser known was the number of rechecks she performed on the work of others. Within a few months she had forged service agreements with some of Miami's best-known hospitals. One of her specialties was reading PAP smears - a tedious and time-consuming screening process that identifies any signs of potential malignancy in cervical cells.
PAP smears are the best tool for detecting precancerous conditions as well as small, hidden tumors that may cause the more deadly forms of cervical cancer.

Leslie was also asked to train interns, and not just in cytology. Leslie emphasized to them that the key to a correct diagnosis begins with gathering an accurate and comprehensive patient history. Leslie recognized that many misdiagnoses stemmed from the absence of a thorough patient history at the
time of entry into the medical system. Another of her lesser-known contributions was a standardized intake sheet and questionnaire that addressed these weaknesses.

Cervical cancer used to be the leading cause of cancer deaths for women in America, but the numbers have significantly declined in the past forty years primarily as a result of women obtaining regular PAP tests early in their lifetimes. There is no doubt that Leslie's 30+ years of experience in
properly performing and analyzing PAP tests, along with passing those skills onto others, helped contribute to that drop in mortality rates.

However, what the statistics do not show are the numbers of errors made that went unreported. Leslie had firsthand knowledge of that error rate by the numbers of slides she received that had been misread by others. Leslie could always be counted on to provide hospitals and physicians with that
all-important "second opinion," and in Leslie's case, her "second opinions" were 100% accurate, 100% of the time. It would not be an exaggeration to say that countless women owe their lives to her spot-on diagnoses. Yet, in a cruel twist of Fate, Leslie was cut down in the prime of her life by a small
cervical tumor that went undetected - the one tumor she was not given a chance to catch in time.

This was the second time that Leslie had a tumor. She quickly won her first bout with the disease. In fact, after her first surgery and chemotherapy, which was followed by a short recovery period, Leslie was back on her feet volunteering her services at the free clinic while pursuing her passion for
traveling, camping, hiking, and skiing. She had been in full remission up until January of this year and had completed a skiing trip last December.

She was not as lucky in her second encounter and the reasons why the cancer had returned so quickly and aggressively may never be known.
What will be known and remembered forever was her tireless devotion to her family, her friends, her patients, and her God. Leslie led by example of what it means to be a committed Christian - a term that the media has bandied about without any regard to or understanding of its true meaning.
Leslie was 68. She is survived by her son, Christopher Buckley, and her brother, Dr. Ronald Polland.