Bath joins USA Health as surgical oncologist

By Carol McPhail
cmcphail@health.southalabama.edu

Natalie Bath, M.D., was seeking a career in transplant surgery when she felt a growing realization that she was meant to pursue a different path – treating cancer patients as a surgical oncologist.

“I found solace in the ability to provide patients with something that seems vastly different from the methodical nature of the operating room – comfort and time,” said Bath, who recently joined USA Health as a surgical oncologist. “The weight of the uncertainty that these patients and their families face is not something I can begin to imagine. However, I do know that it has ignited a new passion in me to be an advocate for these patients who are arguably at the most vulnerable point in their lives.”

Bath, who also serves as an assistant professor of surgery at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine, will treat patients with cancers related to the gastrointestinal tract, liver and pancreas, and the endocrine system.

She recently completed a fellowship in complex general surgical oncology at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she served as chief administrative fellow. Bath said she sought to join a collaborative, supportive environment and to be able to provide surgical oncology care to those most in need. She found all of those things at USA Health in Mobile, the farthest south the Midwesterner has ever lived.

“Being a member of the USA Health family will allow me to reach those in need of care all along the Gulf Coast, but perhaps more importantly, I am able to serve the community locally, which keeps patients from having to travel many hours every couple of months for clinic visits,” she said.

Bath earned bachelor’s degrees in science pre-professional studies and history from the University of Notre Dame before completing a medical degree at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.

She trained as an intern and general surgery resident at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester before pursuing a post-doctoral T32 training grant at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. There, she gained research skills and in-depth knowledge of the latest developments in immunosuppression to help improve graft life in transplant patients. She remained at UW for a general surgery residency, where she was chief resident, before moving to her fellowship in surgical oncology.

Cancer patients frequently see many providers during their treatment, Bath said, which can make the medical system seem intimidating and overwhelming. “It is important to me that patients feel at ease during clinic visits, and in order to accomplish this goal, I strive to ensure patients are fully informed so that we can work together to make shared treatment decisions,” she said.

Bath will see patients at USA Health’s Surgical Oncology Clinic in the Strada Patient Care Center, USA Health University Hospital and the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute.