A Healthy Perspective

Norman Physician Reflects on 30-year Career

BY: Lindsay Cuomo

When Sherri Durica started college, she had her eyes set on a career in marine biology. However as many do, Durica decided that another field might be a better fit.

“A friend encouraged me to consider medical school and I loved it,” Durica said. “I love the science to it and getting to help people.”

Fast forward more than 30 years and, today, Durica is looking back on an extensive career as an oncologist and is preparing for retirement in April.

Durica spent much of her career working in the Norman Regional Health System and when she looks back, she says the patients and their families stand out the most.

“At the heart of what I do, I have a real interest in getting to know my patients and being a part of the team to help them.”

The doctor-patient relationship is very important to Durica.

“As an oncologist, I have been able to help patients with significant diseases, to treating them and cure their disease, but I have also been able to help those I wasn’t able to cure. I was there to help them and their families, to make that process as comfortable and less scary as possible.”

Durica says she has enjoyed working in Norman because it’s offered her a way to help the community she considers home.

“Norman is a very unique place, and I have been able to take care of the people in and around my town,” she said.

“Norman Regional has been a great place to practice. We’ve had a lot of good surgeons and doctors, and last year we opened a dedicated space for cancer treatment that has allowed us to focus even more on our patients.”

“We have everything we need in our clinic. We can do most of the outpatient procedures. We have our own lab, so we are able to really take the time to care for our patients.”

At Norman Regional Oncology and Hematology, Durica has focused on adults with cancer and blood diseases, an area she chose because the conditions affect a person’s whole body.

“Rather than specialize in one area of the body, we take care of pretty much everything,” Durica said. “There have been a lot of great advancements, especially in the treatment of breast cancer and lung cancer. We now have medications that can treat patients that would have needed a bone marrow transplant before.”

Even with all of the advancement, Durica said she believes the most important aspect moving forward should be in prevention.

“It is really exciting to see new therapies like immuno- and gene therapy, but those are really expensive. I think we can and should get better at primary prevention.”

“I’d also like to see better early detection as well,” she added.

Outside of her professional role, Durica has worked on several community boards and currently serves on the Norman Regional Foundation’s scholarship committee. She also has been a longtime volunteer with Scouts BSA, for which she was honored with the Harold R. Belknap Heart of Gold Award in2010.

The Harold R. Belknap Heart of Gold Award is given to a physician who promotes a sense of community pride and dedicates significant time to the development of the next generation of leaders and healthcare providers.

Durica was a patrol adviser for Troop 777 and continues to serve as a merit badge counselor, also making yearly trips to Philmont, a Scout camp in New Mexico, as a doctor for the group and an adult adviser.

When Durica officially retires this month, Norman Regional Oncology will have four physicians: Dr. Shannon Haenel, Dr. Kristin Thorp, Dr. Shari Jones and Dr. Namali Pierson. To learn more about the care options available at the cancer center, visit normanregional.com. – BSM