What's Been Broken Is All the More Sharp

I am not the woman who destroyed a celebrated professor’s career – he did that himself.

For more than a decade, Dr Yoo Young Dominique Lee lived two lives. To the world, she was everything a cancer specialist was meant to be – competent, composed, admired. But beneath the polished surface was a traumatised woman barely surviving each day.

In 2013, a respected oncology professor drugged and sexually assaulted Dominique when she was a trainee doctor. He was later charged, pleaded guilty, and went to jail. His name was made public. Hers was not.

Until now.

What’s Been Broken Is All the More Sharp is the story of the woman behind the headlines – her trauma, her silence, and what it cost her to stay in a profession where everyone seemed to know what happened to her but didn’t actually know her. It is not just a retelling of the assault, but an unflinching exploration of who she was before and what follows: the disorientation, the shame, the crushing invisibility, and the long, unpredictable arc of recovery.

Told with clarity and courage, Dominique’s story is a testament to survival, an offering to those experiencing similar trauma, and a reminder that the secret for surviving is the people who offer grace and kindness in even the darkest of times.

This is not a story about a man who abused his power.

It is the story of a woman reclaiming hers.

About the Author

Dr Dominique Lee is a cancer specialist based in Brisbane, Australia. A clinician, teacher, researcher, entrepreneur and advocate, she brings compassion and courage to every facet of her work.

As a junior doctor, she made history as the first doctor to successfully win a criminal court case against a senior professor for sexual assault – a landmark case that broke the silence surrounding abuse in medicine. Her experience not only transformed her own life but also sparked a national conversation about safety, accountability and culture within the medical profession.

Today, Dominique is a recognised leader in her field, known for her clinical expertise and contributions and her unwavering commitment to humanising healthcare. Beyond her professional achievements, Dominique is a passionate advocate for physician wellbeing and for survivors of sexual assault, dedicating herself to supporting and uplifting her colleagues while working to reshape the culture of medicine.

She is the founder of HeyBoss!, a physician-wellbeing company that empowers doctors through evidence-based coaching, education programs and retreats. Her mission is to help doctors rediscover what first called them to medicine – connection, compassion and purpose. Beyond medicine, she is devoted to creating a roadmap for survival and renewal for those who have endured sexual violence – a map that turns suffering into strength, silence into voice, and survival into the beginning of something whole.