“ My hope is that Invincible Women brings greater awareness to the value of the high-achieving, amazing women I spoke with over the last few years. They have thrived in this country and continue to enrich our society with their skill and commitment to the arts, science, medicine, business, philanthropy, and many other areas. ”
BILHA CHESNER FISH, MD,
is a board-certified radiologist with expertise in body imaging and musculoskeletal radiology. She founded Manhasset Diagnostic Imaging and then Pathways Women’s Health, one of the first women’s health centers on New York’s Long Island.
Born in Israel, she served in Naval Intelligence with the Israeli army and earned her MD from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Bologna, Italy. With her husband, whom she met in medical school, she went to the United States and completed her training at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and the Hospital for Special Surgery. She became an expert in the newest technology and accepted a position as Chief of Imaging at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan.
In 1995, when she expanded her radiology practice with an innovative women’s health center, she focused on preventative programs and asked volunteer physicians in the community to teach women to be proactive about their health. The center offers group therapy for women afflicted by cancer to provide support through the process of healing.
Dr. Fish also established the Unbeaten Path, which provides age-specific programs for adolescents on topics such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, sexually transmitted diseases, bullying, and recognizing mental health issues, for which they receive health credit in high school. She sponsored a nationally recognized community awards program for local teens and senior citizens.
Over the years Dr. Fish complemented her science experiences with more creative and artistic endeavors, earning two master’s degrees, in art history and studio art, at Long Island University’s C. W. Post campus. More recently she enrolled in the master’s degree program in Italian studies at Columbia University. She is fluent in English, Hebrew, French, and Italian. She resides in New York City and Sag Harbor, New York.