Brooklyn, NY, June 24, 2025 – Maimonides Cancer Center has announced the celebration of its first 20 years serving Brooklyn in the fight against cancer. Since its establishment in 2005 as Brooklyn’s first fully accredited cancer center, Maimonides has rapidly expanded into a world-renowned center for cancer treatment, serving more than 30,000 patients each year across 18 oncology specialties.

For years, Maimonides has proudly stood at the forefront of cancer care in Brooklyn, bringing the most innovative, state-of-the-art technologies and treatments, groundbreaking research, and our patient-centered care model close to home for Brooklyn residents. Our center is committed to making high-quality cancer care accessible for all of the many diverse communities in and around Brooklyn, including those underserved by the health care system.

“If Brooklyn were its own city, its population of more than 2.7 million would place it among the top five in the United States, so it’s hard to imagine that 20 years ago, there was no dedicated cancer center here,” says Dr. Patrick Borgen, who left Memorial Sloan Kettering to become the founder and director of the Maimonides Breast Cancer Program and also serves as Chair, Department of Surgery. “Maimonides saw that need and fulfilled it, in the name of providing Brooklynites with the world-class cancer care this community deserves.”

“Every time a patient walks through our doors, it’s the start of a new relationship,” says Dr. David Berlach, Chair, Department of Radiation, Maimonides Health. “We get to know them throughout their care, tailoring every treatment to their clinical success and comfort level. We know our community well, and our mission is not only to connect to them to the best possible treatment, but to meet them where they are in terms of language, cultural practices, socioeconomic factors, and more components that contribute to the most successful treatments and experiences. Our team goes the extra mile at every opportunity, so our patients don’t have to. That is key to our mission of saving lives and promoting healing.”

“Since opening 20 years ago, we have never stopped our progress,” says Ken Gibbs, President and CEO, Maimonides Health. “We’ve never stopped growing, building our strategy around the needs of our community and the idea that no patient should need to travel to Manhattan for high-quality cancer care.”

20 Years of Milestone Achievements

Accreditations Confirm Our Reputation of Leadership in Cancer Care:

• We’re certified by the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative, a recognition of our team-based culture of quality and excellence, elevating cancer care delivery to the highest possible level. Additionally, we are accredited by the American College of Radiation (ACR) for Radiation Oncology care.
• We are one of only two facilities in New York State — and only 22 facilities nationwide — to earn an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons for achieving a perfect score in all evaluation categories.
• We are recognized by US News & World Report as High Performing in Colon Cancer Surgery (3 years in a row), Leukemia Lymphoma & Myeloma (2 years in a row), and Lung Cancer Surgery (the only Brooklyn hospital to earn this distinction).
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  Maimonides Breast Center clinicians at the 2025 Miami Breast Cancer Conference.

  Leading the Way with Brooklyn’s First Breast Center: In 2011, we founded the Maimonides Breast Center, Brooklyn’s only breast center fully accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. The Ermina Rivera Breast Imaging Center, the first Brooklyn-based program designated an ACR Center of Excellence in multiple areas of breast cancer screening, now conducts nearly 10,000 screenings annually.

• Multiple First-in-Brooklyn Prostate Cancer Treatments: Maimonides Prostate Center, founded in 2015, Brooklyn’s only full-service, dedicated prostate cancer care center, and has paved the way for cutting-edge prostate cancer treatment in Brooklyn.
  • ACR-accredited in Prostate Cancer MRI, we were named among the top 5% in the nation and #3 in New York state for prostate surgery by Healthgrades, as well as the top 5% in the nation for outpatient prostate care.
  • Healthgrades also awarded the Prostate Center Five-Star Ratings in both transurethral prostate resection surgery and outpatient prostate care.
  • We were the first hospital on the East Coast to offer an advanced form of high-intensity focal ultrasound (HIFU), a noninvasive targeted treatment.
  • We were also the first hospital in Brooklyn to offer irreversible electroporation (IRE) – a minimally-invasive treatment for prostate cancers in certain locations within the prostate.
  • We remain the only established Pluvicto program in Brooklyn for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. The program, established in 2023 and offered only at advanced radiation oncology practices, has provided 25+ treatments to date.

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  Maimonides Health’s Lung Cancer Screening Program and Lung Cancer Care Team were honored at the 10th Annual New York City LUNG FORCE Walk.

  Leading in Lung Cancer: Maimonides’ Lung Cancer Program offers innovative therapies and a robust screening program to combat the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Brooklyn. It has received Outstanding Achievement Award from the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cance Our Lung Cancer Screening Program is designated a Lung Cancer Screening Center by the ACR and a Screening Center of Excellence by the Lung Cancer Alliance, highlighting our excellence in operations and patient care. The program has preventively screened more than 5,000 patients for lung cancer since its launch in 2014.

• Unique Rapid Assessment Program: Through our outpatient Rapid Assessment Service, we provide expedited diagnoses for patients with suspected cancer, reducing the hurdles associated with the many tests and specialist visits needed to diagnose cancer, guiding our patients quickly through a process that is often rife with fear and anxiety, and fast-tracking treatment when needed.
• Leading Clinical Trials: The Cancer Center participates in clinical trials through the National Cancer Institute, offering patients cutting-edge treatment options and improving the overall quality of cancer care available, while emphasizing informed decision-making together with each patient based on their individual conditions.
• Community Partnerships to Expand Access: In 2023, we partnered with SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University to allow Downstate patients immediate access to a broader range of specialists at Maimonides Cancer Center without leaving the community and traveling to other locations for much-needed treatment. We also opened an Infusion Center at Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital, bringing infusion services backed by the expertise of Maimonides clinicians closer to even more patients.

Current Innovations

Cutting-Edge Adaptive Radiation Therapy System: Last month, we incorporated a brand-new adaptive radiation therapy system that includes a linear accelerator into our radiation oncology program. The system allows for providers to scan patients more often and adjust treatment plans in real time, shortening treatment duration, increasing precision, and boosting the efficacy of each dose of radiation while maintaining safety for patients.

Hepatic Artery Infusion: In 2024, we became the first and only facility in Brooklyn to provide lifesaving Hepatic Artery Infusion, a targeted therapy for patients with metastatic colorectal or bile duct cancer that has spread to the liver. Fewer than 1% of hospitals in the U.S. offer this procedure.

Leading Brooklyn in Robotic Surgery: Our 2024 designation as a Robotic Center of Excellence by the Surgical Review Corporation (SRC), highlights our commitment to excellence in robotic surgery and high-quality patient care. Our patients benefit from the multidisciplinary expertise of Brooklyn’s largest robotic surgery program, spanning multiple surgical oncology specialties.

Making Home a Place to Heal

We’re proud of our record of delivering these milestones to our Brooklyn community, but numbers aren’t everything. That’s why no patient at Maimonides is treated as just a number. Just as our namesake taught to treat each patient as a whole person and not just the disease they are suffering from, our clinical teams are experts in addressing the factors that prohibit patients from achieving the best results.

They care for each patient holistically, developing unique, patient-centered care plans for every aspect of cancer care. Honed over 100 years, our experience caring for the needs of Brooklyn’s many diverse communities informs our cancer care, and we are here to advocate for our patients every step of the way, keeping them focused on healing.

At Maimonides, it is the highest reward to see our patients healthy, thriving, and with the support they need both during and after their journey to fight cancer. This year, we not only celebrate this special anniversary, but continue our many celebrations of our cancer survivors, our patients past and present, and their loved ones, including our 20^th annual Cancer Survivor’s Day this month, and our 12^th annual Pink Runway this October.

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