Meet the Team: Kelly D’Amico, MD

MEET THE DOCTORS OF RADIOLOGY IMAGING ASSOCIATES AND INVISION SALLY JOBE

Kelly D’Amico is a breast radiologist based in Denver, Colorado. She has been a member of the Invision Sally Jobe team since 2012, after completing her Fellowship training at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

What is your current occupation?

I am a radiologist specializing in breast imaging at Radiology Imaging Associates/Invision Sally Jobe, based in Denver, CO.

What do you love most about being a radiologist?

As a radiologist, I get to solve puzzles every day with a team of smart, caring people (technologists, nurses, other physicians). I love the complexity and challenge of figuring out why a patient is having their symptoms. Every day is novel, and I still see things I have never seen before, which is both humbling and cultivates curiosity. I am constantly learning. The reward of solving these puzzles is helping people live healthy, happy lives. There is no better reward.

How do you define success?

I think there are several forms of success. Job success is knowing I would choose the same career path if money were no object. I know I am affecting change in people’s lives for the better and it gives me a strong sense of purpose. Personal success is surrounding myself with people I love. It’s also making time for the things I am passionate about, whether that’s a long hike listening to an audiobook with my pup or sunrise skiing up Aspen with loved ones.

Who inspires you?

My friends and family, they are all pretty incredible. My mom is the reason I became a breast radiologist. She is a four time breast cancer survivor, going on almost 20 years since her first diagnosis. She never lets anything get her down and maintains a level of positivity in everything she does. She hiked Bergan Peak with me midway through chemotherapy- from sea level, on Thanksgiving. That’s the type of woman she is, tough as nails.

If you could choose anyone as a mentor, who would you choose and why?

I feel fortunate to have trained and worked along side some of the best people in the field of breast imaging. They are all brilliant, strong women, who have shaped the physician I am today. To name a few, Ana Lourenco and Martha Mainiero at Brown University, Mimi Newell at Emory, and now Lora Barke at RIA/ISJ. They are all leaders in the field of breast imaging and are helping to train the next generation of radiologists.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a breast radiologist?

It’s a long, hard road with many sacrifices, but in the end you get to make a difference in other people’s lives every day, and there is nothing more fulfilling than that. Also, laugh. A lot. It will help the hard days feel less hard.

What’s one thing — either industry-related or not — you learned in the last month?

Birds do not like grape artificial flavoring…This fact is courtesy of the Banff Film Festival. Maybe more people should spray their gardens with grape Kool-aid??

What is your favorite hobby?

Anything outdoors. Hiking, biking, climbing mountains, trail running, skiing (uphill and backcountry), you name it. If it’s outside and involves pushing your body, I love it.

What’s the next place on your travel bucket list?

Wapta Ski Traverse in the Canadian Rockies. I also just got back from climbing Mt. Vinson in Antarctica, one of the seven summits. It was about 16 days in a tent for 5 days of climbing. The average temperature was -30 degrees Celsius and there was not a single living creature aside from us humans. The scenery was spectacular, I spent almost a month with one of my favorite people, and it pushed me beyond my comfort zone. I like touching the edge sometimes, it reminds me to continuously push and reassess my boundaries.