General Summary
Dr. Sharon T. Wilks her career began in the US Air Force where she received her medical education, remained in medical service for 12 years and received two medals of commendation. While in the military, Dr. Wilks was successful in bringing the first breast cancer prevention clinical trial to Wilford Hall Medical Center in 1995, was appointed as the physician to head the breast cancer prevention program and received two Department of Defense Grants to develop early screening programs that included providing free mammograms to over 800 women. Following service in the military, she continued her educational efforts and community advocacy in addition to maintaining a busy oncology practice.
Dr. Wilks has worked to foster a collaboration between several San Antonio breast cancer organizations, to bring these groups together to better meet community needs and work toward a common goal. She founded and now chairs an organization that involves the Cancer Therapy and Research Center (CTRC), the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation, the American Cancer Society (ACS), WINGS, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the University of Texas Nursing School, and provides the annual "Breast Cancer Update" every October for the public and healthcare providers.
In addition, Dr. Wilks founded the Alamo Breast Cancer Council in 2005 to secure grant monies to fill a need that she had identified, and was awarded a sizable grant from the Baptist Healthcare Foundation to produce a patient-friendly booklet providing concise information for newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients regarding available treatment options, and to give patients decision-making tools in their journey through seeing specialists and beginning their treatment. Over 10,000 English copies and over 5000 copies in Spanish have been distributed so far. In 2006, Dr. Wilks changed the name to the Alamo Cancer Council (ACC) after seeing the need to provide the same type of information to patients with colon cancer, and wrote a similar booklet for these patients. Both booklets fill the large information gap that all patients feel between the time they receive their diagnosis and the time they see their first specialist. Due to the success of the ACC, the organization has been officially recognized by the Texas Cancer Council.
Dr. Wilks has taken leadership roles in numerous other community organizations including, serving as the Chairman of the Cancer Committee for Baptist Healthcare System, working as a mentor for the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation, sitting on the board of directors and the grants committee of the local Susan G. Komen Foundation and is an active speaker for both the ACS and the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation. She is currently a reviewer for the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners and an investigator for the National Cancer Institute.