Dr. Pragya Dang: Spreading Awareness About Breast Cancer Screening and Saving Lives

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Dr. Pragya Dang, MD
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BOSTON– Dr. Pragya Dang, MD, the Section Chief of Breast Imaging at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, is driven by spreading awareness of breast cancer screening and saving lives. Her professional interests include appropriate utilization of breast imaging modalities in early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.

A breast cancer leader in both the local community as well as nationally, Dr. Dang is passionate about raising awareness on breast cancer, educating and empowering women about breast cancer facts including knowing their risk for developing breast cancer, making healthy lifestyle choices, and the benefits of breast cancer screening.

“My main focus is on early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer, and I am a strong advocate for raising awareness about breast cancer and benefits of breast cancer screening,” says Dr. Dang. “Unfortunately, there are many women who are still unaware of the benefits of breast cancer screening and early detection.”

On March 8, 2025, Dr. Dang will be honored as one of the 10 Outstanding Women of the Year 2025 during the 22nd Annual Woman of the Years Awards Gala at Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA. Organized by INDIA New England News and produced by the Mishra Group, the gala is attended annually by about 400 business and community leaders, philanthropists, healthcare professionals and academicians.

To buy a ticket, please click here.

Dr. Dang completed her Diagnostic Radiology residency at MGH, Harvard Medical School, including a focused year of training in Breast Imaging. She also served as Chief Resident during her residency.

She has been practicing as a dedicated breast imaging radiologist since 2014. She started as faculty at MGH, then moved to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and eventually joined as the Chief of Breast Radiology at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in 2019, staying within MGB. In her role as a section chief, she built a department of fellowship-trained subspecialty breast imagers, and runs a successful, high quality, and efficient practice. Her focus has been to improve timeliness and quality of care and reduce variability in practice. Her clinical practice involves interpreting mammograms, ultrasounds, breast MRI and performing image-guided breast procedures.

She has served on both local and national breast imaging committees and is a member of the Society of Breast Imaging/American College of Radiology screening leadership group. Dr. Dang’s professional interests include appropriate utilization of breast imaging modalities in early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.

Here is a Q/A with Dr. Dang:

INDIA New England News: Please tell our readers about your work and what you enjoy most about it?

Pragya Dang: I am a breast imaging radiologist by training and the Section Chief of Breast Radiology at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, MGB.  My clinical practice involves interpreting mammograms, breast ultrasounds, breast MRI and performing image-guided breast procedures.  My main focus is on early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer, and I am a strong advocate for raising awareness about breast cancer and benefits of breast cancer screening.

It is really rewarding to directly impact women’s health through preventative care. Detecting breast cancers early is lifesaving. Screening allows us to find cancers that are small and yet to be palpable. Smaller cancers are curable, and require less aggressive and more successful treatment that result in less morbidity. It is really gratifying to make a difference in women’s lives and potentially saving lives with early detection.

Additionally, I am passionate about reducing variability in practice and providing sub-specialty high quality breast imaging care in the community. Patients no longer need to travel into the city to receive the best care, but rather receive the same high level of care in the community with the same advanced technology and expertise. This aligns with the MGB vision.

When I joined Newton-Wellesley, after training and practicing at the main academic centers in Boston (MGH followed by BWH), my goal was to bring the same level of expertise to the community. With the help of my chairman at Newton-Wellesley, we built a department of fellowship trained breast imagers, who had completed training and practiced at prominent academic centers across the country and provided the highest level of subspecialized care to our patients.

Awaiting results of your screening mammogram or waiting for an appointment for additional imaging or procedure can be very anxiety-provoking for patients. Our focus has been to help alleviate some of this anxiety by improving access to imaging and procedures in a timely way. We strive to take care of patients efficiently, read screening exams within 24 hours and offer same day procedures in concerning cases.

I am very passionate about raising awareness about breast cancer screening benefits and encouraging women to undergo regular screening starting at age 40. This gives them the highest chance to save their lives from breast cancer. I have been involved in educating colleagues, technologists and most importantly women in the community about breast cancer risks, healthy lifestyle choices to reduce risk, and most importantly facts about breast cancer screening. I can’t thank you enough for inviting me to such a forum which allows me to raise awareness about this extremely important public health issue. Unfortunately, there are many women who are still unaware of the benefits of breast cancer screening and early detection.

INE: If you’re engaged with any charity or non-profit, please tell us why this organization and what do you do for them?

PD: Currently, I am not formally involved in any non-profit. I have mainly participated in local initiatives for raising breast cancer awareness and support those causes.

INE: What are your hobbies and interests?

PD: I really enjoy all forms of music. Indian and Western from Bollywood to classical, to pop and country, music is therapy for me.  No matter what the situation, it always elevates my mood and gives me so much joy.

Music is important to everyone in my family too. My father was an encyclopedia of Hindi music: he could list every song, every artist and the story behind it. Music is a common interest I share with my husband and now it translates to our daughters who are passionate about playing both the violin and piano. We fully support them.

Other than that, I love to travel with my family. We’ve been fortunate to have traveled to some incredible parts of the world with our young children.

INE: What is your rare talent, something people don’t know about?

PD: I sing and received vocal training growing up.  I also have a great ear for music and melody. I am able to identify most songs from the very first note because of which my husband lovingly calls me a library of Bollywood music. Although he grew up in a musical family and played a part in Sounds of India, he gets frazzled every time we start comparing our knowledge of Indian music/notes.

INE: Your favorite books?

PD: There are so many books but i recently read this book  “When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalanithi. It is a nonfiction autobiography written by an American neurosurgeon and is a memoir about his life as a doctor and battling metastatic lung cancer. It left a huge impact on me, especially being a physician. As doctors we encounter death often. He reminds us of our responsibilities as physicians in having mental grit and being able to provide emotional support, and empathy in addition to physical support/treatment that we are trained to provide to patients. It is a heartbreaking emotional read, which really struck a chord with me, and points to how fragile life is, and we should not lose sight of what is important, what is not, and the way we live life.

INE: Your favorite quotes?

PD: “Education never goes to waste.”  This is something my father used to say, and I live by it. So important for us to constantly keep learning in life.

“Hard work pays off”

“Sometimes you win, Sometimes you learn”

“It always seems impossible until it’s done”

“Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans”

INE: Who inspires you the most?

PD: My late father. He was someone with incredible values and beliefs. He dedicated his life to serving others as a devoted doctor or with his involvement with various charities, and child education in India. He was the chairman/vice chair of a few public schools, member of the Indian Child Education Society, chairman of a gov’t aided school for underprivileged girls. Even in his last days, he spent all his time treating and helping people struggling with Covid. He was so selfless.

In addition to all of this, he was an amazing friend and always there for everyone. His sociable personality, infectious smile, level-headed thinking, and calm demeanor paved the way into so many hearts.

Despite all his roles and responsibilities which he took a lot of pride and joy in, he was a true family man and his family was everything to him. We all looked up to him as the voice of reason, our family’s leader, and someone who would always take your call no matter where in the world he was.

INE: Your core value you try to live by?

PD: Honesty – “Honesty is always the best policy.”

Respect – “Treat others the way you would like them to treat you.”

Compassion – Always show empathy towards others

Discipline – Not losing sight of our goals and values

INE: If you get a chance to meet, who is the one person you would like to meet and why?

PD: Meeting Mother Teresa would be an opportunity to learn about her compassion, selflessness, and commitment to helping the poor. She was a Nobel Peace Prize winner who dedicated her life to serving those in need.

INE: If you have to pick one, which one will you choose: Love or trust and why?

PD: I think both love and trust are important for a successful relationship. But if I had to pick one, I feel how can you love someone if you don’t trust them?  Without trust, love will not last. Trust is essential for a strong healthy relationship.

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